Chronicles Of The Black Hand, Book 1 Struggle
by DonRoyale
Summary: -Unedited Version- Follows the story of Shadow the FOmar as he creates an organization called the Black Hand to combat criminals. However, one particular call to arms engages him in a battle that ends up having the fate of existence hanging in the balance


Chronicles of The Black Hand Book 1: Struggle

Basically, Book 1 (the unedited version, anyway) is a compilation of role-playing entries and a horridly done storyline. I'll re-do this later, but for right now, I want to complete book 3, get on book 1-1, and post book 2, and without book 1, it won't make sense.

So, crappy as is, understand that this rubbish content fills large plot holes from book 2. I'm posting this in its entirety, so don't be confused when you see more than one chapter at a time here. (It's all copy-and-paste, anyway) When the edited version is done, I'll post the chapters individually.

Before you read, I want you to also know that there's a bit of bad grammar in it. I was working with two other people on this, and have entries from them, so you can tell which is which. Please pardon the mistakes-I just want to get posting this out of the way .

Disclaimer: Don't own Phantasy Star or any of its sequels.

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Chapter 1

Shadow looked anxiously around the next corner of No Man's Mines to see if another robot would attack him. Seeing that the coast was clear, he signaled to Jay that the coast was clear. The two advanced, only to find that a duo of Sinow Beats was waiting from above.

"I thought you said the coast was clear!" Jay loaded his Twin Psychogun, ready to blow the Sinow Beats to scrap.

"Hey, it adds more fun to it, at least." Shadow ran his right index finger along the edge of his Battle Verge. The two Sinow Beats charged, targeting Shadow first, because he was closer to the Sinows. Shadow jumped back to dodge, leaving Jay in the direct line of fire. While the Sinows analyzed the situation, Jay targeted the Sinow's heads, and squeezed on the trigger. During the commotion, a group of four Gillchics had appeared. Jay didn't notice until Shadow said, "Duck." 

"What was that?" Jay looked confused.

"Duck..." 

Jay ducked to avoid the Gillchic's punch.

"Goose." Shadow pointed his Battle Verge in the direction of the Gillchics. A large bolt of lightning sprouted from it, and struck all four Gillchics at ones, causing them to explode.

"Even in kindergarten, I still never played that game." Jay said. The two carried on.

------------

Chapter 2

Having to split up from Jay was a pain. With Shadow's magic abilities, and Jay's brute strength, it was a hindrance for both to split up. The caves of Ragol were a difficult place to navigate through for Shadow. He had encountered little resistance, until he reached a room full of Ob Lillies. He knew he stood no chance alone. There were seven of them in total, and Shadow's mental abilities alone served him no good; the Lillies could still emit their paralyzing screech. Shadow was contemplating his next move when a strange noise coming from inside the room attracted Shadow's attention. The noise was almost like a revving sound. He looked inside the room to see a black HUcast bearing a Chain Sword hacking the Lillies to pieces while expertly dodging the Lillies' dark saliva.

"Wow," Shadow thought, "that guy's got some talent."

The HUcast, now finished with the Lillies, decided it was time to hunt in the next room. Shadow felt like he could use a challenge, so he waited behind the door for the HUcast to emerge. As expected, the HUcast came out of the door and headed towards the next one. Shadow thought it was his lucky day; he didn't even notice him. Shadow threw Foie at the HUcast; the HUcast quickly blocked.

"So, you DID know I was here..."

------------

Chapter 3

"Humph..." the HUcast grunted, "...this shouldn't take long." He whipped out a pair of Cross Scars and charged at Shadow. Shadow got out of the way, but the HUcast sprung right up and attempted to strike him on the right with his right Cross Scar. Shadow raised his Battle Verge to block, then pointed it at the HUcast, sending a blast of lightning that overwhelmed the HUcast, sending him crashing to the ground. Before the HUcast could recover, the tip of the Battle Verge's blade was already up to the HUcast's neck, and Shadow had already prepared a blast of Razonde for his escape.

"Not bad, kid." the HUcast complimented.

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself. What's your name?" Shadow asked.

"My name...Call me Silva. And you?"

"My name's Shadow. What exactly were you doing here?"

"I'm here on assignment. My superiors say three very skilled Hunters are here, and I'm supposed to bring them to my superiors. I'm guessing that you're one of them." Silva said with little interest.

"Humph. Sounds to me like you're not too thrilled serving them. But, to answer your question, I suppose I'm one of the three. I was here with my friend until we split up." Shadow replied.

"I see...Well, how about I help you look for him?"

"Hmm...Fine. Come with me. And stay in front of me, OK? I don't like getting swarmed by monsters, and it'll be your head if they injure me. Got it?"

Silva laughed. "OK, OK. I get your point. Let's be on our way, shall we?" Silva headed for the door. Shadow followed.

"You don't have to worry," Shadow said, "I've already taken care of most of the monsters." 

"Hold on..." Silva stopped. Shadow stopped as well. 

"What is it?"

"Shh...Listen." Silva said. Both fell silent, attempting to listen to what was happening on the other side of the door in front of them. What sounded like the agonized cries of the cave's creatures echoed throughout the room. Eventually, the screaming died down, but by the time Silva noticed it was time to hide, a black and red RAcast opened the door and entered the room.

"!!" The RAcast pointed his Red Scorpio at them. "Who are you?"

------------

Chapter 4

"I take it this ain't your friend." Silva said, arming himself with his Cross Scars.

"You think...?" Shadow said, whipping out his Battle Verge.

"Maybe. Who knows?" Silva charged at the RAcast.

The RAcast, putting down his rifle, said, "NOW!" A HUmar in white and blue armor jumped over the RAcast, and shot Silva with his Twin Psychoguns.

"One down, one to go." the RAcast said.

"Hold on. We sure picked the wrong time to pick a fight, didn't we, Shadow?" The HUmar said.

"Wait, you KNOW this guy?" the RAcast said.

"Yes he does. We're working together. We got split up near the start of our quest, and we each found a 'cast to team up with, I suppose. So, Jay, who's your new friend?" Shadow said.

"This? This is EDDIE, the RAcast. I found him while wandering around. He's a very strong RAcast." Jay said.

"Well, with a weapon that big, no doubt he has to be strong. So, EDDIE, what are you here for?" Shadow asked. 

"Me? I love the thrill of a hunt." EDDIE said triumphantly.

"Well, my friend Silva here needs some treatment." Shadow said.

"Allow me." EDDIE said. He reached for a Star Atomizer and used it. Instantly, the group of four was fully healed.

"Ungh.." Silva groaned, "What happened?"

"There was a bit of a mix-up, Silva, but don't worry, everything's fine now." Shadow explained.

"So, these guys aren't our enemies?" Silva asked.

"Nope." Shadow said.

All of a sudden, a deep rumble shook the foundation of the caves, knocking all four down to the ground.

"What was that?!" Jay asked.

"I don't know...But I think we should check it out." Shadow said.

"Good idea." EDDIE said, "Maybe it's a big monster of some sort that I can kill!" 

"Come on," Silva said, "I calculated the co-ordinates of the place where the tremor emerged from."

The four left the room, but as they did, Silva's communication device on his arm beeped. "Silva," a deep voice said, "we need your help. A giant monster has your brother pinned down. Come to the following co-ordinates right away." A map of the caves appeared on Silva's comm device, showing the location of three individuals. 

"Oh no...My brother..."

-------------

Chapter 5

Shadow, Jay, and Ed all looked at Silva. "Brother?" they all said in unison. "You have a brother? And you were going to tell us this, when?" Shadow said.

"I told you, Shadow, I'm here with my superiors. My brother, my boss, and one of my comrades split up from me. They thought, if I went by myself, it would help my training. I think, though, they thought that I was a burden to them and wanted to get rid of me."

"Well," Shadow said, "let's help your superiors. Who is he, anyways?" 

"I'm sorry, Shadow...If I told you who he was..." 

"Oh great," Jay said, "Now he's keeping secrets from us!"

"It's not that, Jay. Silva, what?" Ed said.

"...he'd kill us all." Silva said.

"..." Shadow looked at Silva, who was looking down. "All right. We don't know what we're up against, but let's try and help anyways!"

"Look, everyone, here's the teleportal!" Ed ran up to the teleportal. The others followed and entered.

Meanwhile, at the scene of the battle...

"Damn it! Are you two OK?" The boss was fighting off the giant crustacean that had pinned down his two partners: A HUnewearl and a HUcast.

All of a sudden, Shadow, Jay, Ed, and Silva appeared. 

"Ah, you're here." He looked at Shadow, Jay, and Ed. "I see you have also breached my orders!" he said sharply. "I told you, kill anyone you see."

Shadow looked at him. "Hey, you look familiar..."

Jay, noticing the crustacean had taken advantage of the warrior's split concentration to charge up for a laser attack, said, "Duck!" Everyone ducked.

Shadow took this chance to whip out his Battle Verge. He pointed it at the crustacean and unleashed a huge Rafoie explosion. The explosion badly injured the worm.

The crustacean didn't take too kindly to Shadow's magic, and lunged at him.

Ed whipped out his Red Scorpio. "I got three parting words for ya, worm." The aiming laser met the crustacean's head. "Point and shoot." Ed squeezed the trigger. A missile erupted from the bazooka and collided with the worm's skull-like armor. The missile caused a large explosion which stripped the crustacean of most of its armor. The worm crashed on the boat on which the seven were fighting it on.

"My turn now." Jay took out his Yamato blades, and severed the beast's head.

"Wow. You found some pretty good Hunters, Silva. Now help your brother and Sue. We're out of here." Silva's boss said.

"Boss, wait. What if my friends here helped our cause?" Silva asked.

"Wait, now I know!" Shadow said. "You're..."

"Humph. I see you recognize me." he said.

"Black Paper!"

----------

Chapter 6

Silva knew that this would be the last straw for his boss. Black Paper would never let them live, now that they knew his identity. "Boss, wait!"

Everyone looked at Silva. Jay and Ed were glaring, Shadow just stood on in shock. "What is it, Silva?" Black Paper said.

Silva looked up and said, "I think...that these guys are the ones."

Black Paper laughed. "Hahahahaha! You think these guys are strong?" 

Jay snapped and charged at Black Paper. Black Paper grinned and said, "Now." A purple HUcast wielding a large scythe struck Jay in the back, sending him crashing to the ground. At the same time, a HUnewearl in red and black unleashed a blast of Zonde to cripple Ed. Shadow was the only one left. He thought to himself, "I know I don't stand a chance against the three of them." Shadow knew that Silva wouldn't fight him. Thinking quickly, he knew his only option was retreat. He'd follow Black Paper's movements closely, and spring Jay and Ed once the time was right.

"Get him." Black Paper said. He, the purple HUcast, and the black and red HUnewearl surrounded him.

Looking around, he knew he couldn't escape simply by running. He knew his course of action, but simply didn't know how he'd do it.

"Boss...Please, don't!" Silva said.

"Silva, don't you want to help us contain your friend?" the HUcast said.

"Brother..." Silva replied, looking down.

"Come on, Silva!" the HUnewearl said.

Silva didn't know what to do. He was torn between helping his brother and colleagues, or killing his friend. The pressure and constant replies from his comrades were racing through his head, replaying faster and faster and faster until- 

"Ungh!" the HUnewearl had been struck in the back by Silva's Chain Sword.

"Silva!"

"Brother!" 

"Silva..."

"I'm sorry, boss. Looks like I'm not working for you anymore." Silva said.

"Grrr..." he looked at Silva's brother. "Get him!"

The HUcast charged at his brother.

"Kireek...I'm sorry, brother..." Silva ducked under the slash of his brother's Soul Eater, and struck him in the torso with his Chain Sword. Kireek fell to the ground in pain.

"Grr...Fine, I'll take care of you myself!" Black Paper charged at Silva.

Shadow unleashed a blast of lightning at Black Paper, stunning him momentarily. In that time, he managed to set a Telepipe.

Silva, however, was looking back and forth between Black Paper and Kireek.

"Come on, Silva! We have to leave, NOW!" Shadow yelled.

The HUnewearl was getting up. Soon, the three would be back up again, and they'd be killed for sure.

"COME ON!" Shadow said. 

Silva shook his head and ran up to the Telepipe. The two were instantly transported to Pioneer 2.

------------

Chapter 7

"Silva..." Shadow looked at Silva, who was literally trembling. "...are you OK?"

Silva looked up at Shadow. Shadow could see he was in turmoil. "Shadow...Oh, what have I done?!"

"Silva, what you did back there...Thank you. You've proven you're a true friend." Shadow tried to cheer Silva up.

"Shadow, you don't understand. At all times, Black Paper knows where I am. There's a chip inside of me that tracks my location. We're in tremendous danger. If we even set foot on Ragol-"

"Silva, don't worry. I know someone who can have the chip removed." Shadow walked up to the Hunter's Guild office. "Greetings, miss."

"Hello, Shadow! Nice to see you again!" the receptionist said with a smile. Shadow was a regular at the Hunter's Guild. He and Jay would always take jobs from here. "Where's Jaysky? Did you and him get separated?"

"You..." Shadow looked at Silva, who was still looking down. "...could say that. Look, do you know where Jean is? It's urgent that I speak with him."

"You need to see him? Well, according to our Section ID tracking device, he's somewhere down on Nebula Montana." the receptionist said. 

"Darn..." Silva said.

"What is it, Silva?" Shadow asked.

"That's where he is..." Silva said. He knew if he mentioned Black Paper, the two of them would both be arrested.

"Where who is?" the receptionist asked.

"It's nothing...Could you please set up a teleportal for us?" Shadow asked.

"I certainly can." the receptionist said.

A Telepipe appeared a few feet away from the two.

"I know we'll probably at least encounter my brother if we go there..." Silva said.

"Well, then, I suppose we can just kill two birds with one stone, then, can't we, Silva?" Shadow asked.

"I suppose, but..." Silva looked down.

"What is it, Silva?"

"I know he'll have them kill us. If I find my brother...he'll try and kill us for sure. I don't want to have to kill him..." 

"Silva..." Shadow said.

The two walked up to the teleportal. The two were instantly transported to Nebula Montana, the mountain area of Gal De Val Island.

-----------

Chapter 8

Looking around, Shadow saw that no guards were there. He stood still and listened to the wind. He could hear nothing, which could only mean two things: either the guards were lying in wait, or there were no guards. The latter seemed like a miracle, knowing Black Paper.

The sound of two people talking alerted the two, and they ran to take cover. The two people were a FOnewm and a RAcaseal. The FOnewm looked quite young, and the RAcaseal was following behind him. Silva knew they weren't guards, and Shadow knew they weren't enemies.

"So, why are we here?" the RAcaseal asked, looking around.

"We're here because the government is closing in on Black Paper. They've located their base, and have dispatched us to go and find Black Paper. After we've found his base, we're to signal to the Principal. He'll send in the main wave of troops then. But-" the FOnewm stopped.

"What is it?" the RAcaseal asked.

"Stand still, and don't say a word." The FOnewm brought out a Bringer's Rifle, and aimed it in the direction of Shadow and Silva. "Don't make any sudden moves, you two! Stand up and put your hands above your head." He approached the bushes behind which Shadow and Silva were hiding.

"You wouldn't shoot me, would ya Doc?" Shadow stood up and smiled at the FOnewm.

The FOnewm lowered his rifle and breathed a sigh of relief. "Shadow, it's been too long. How have you been?"

Silva looked at Shadow, confused. "Shadow, who is this?"

Shadow looked at Silva and said, "Oh, that's right. Silva, meet one of the brightest minds of Pioneer 2, Doctor Jean Carlo Montague!"

-------------

Chapter 9

"Dr. Montague..." Silva looked at the Doctor as if he was some kind of demon. Montague was looking back at him, but not in the least with the same expression. His was an expression of deep confusion. 

"Excuse me...Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"It's...nothing." Silva darted his eyes down, trying to hide the obvious lie he had just told to Montague.

Shadow knew Monatgue had some worth to Black Paper. He knew the Doctor was probably one of his prime targets, but he knew Silva couldn't reveal to him his true identity. He probably thought that the Doctor would kill Silva, and probably Shadow as well, for even having a connection to Black Paper.

Trying to change the subject, he said, "So, Doc, we're also after Black Paper. Why not join us, and we'll look together?"

The Doctor, who just realized that he had been pulled out of his thoughts, said in confusion, "What? Oh, sure..." He then looked at Silva, then turned around, and began to walk in the opposite direction. The others followed.

"We believe we are very close to finding the base of Black Paper's operations." the Newman said.

Silva knew he had to keep silent. Saying anything that would reveal even the slightest hint to a connection with his former boss would surely result in his death. 

As Shadow was walking, a sharp pain in his head alerted him. He groaned softly in pain. Montague noticed something was wrong. "What seems to be the matter, Shadow?"

"Unh...My head, it's...pounding." The pain in Shadow's head soon subsided, and he said, "It's all right now. The pain is gone." 

Silva looked at Shadow. _Oh no,_ he thought, _could he be doing this? He's highly infectious...He could be able to-_

Silva's thoughts were interrupted by two figures standing in the distance. Shadow and Silva at once identified the figures as Kireek and Sue.

"Greetings, brother." The HUcast brandished his Soul Eater, and took a battle stance. Sue took out her Nei's Claw, and smiled. "Time for revenge!" The two charged at the group.

Montague looked at Shadow. "Did that HUcast just say...brother?" He glared at Silva.

"Montague, you do not understand, he-" Before Shadow could finish, he had to extend his Battle Verge over Montage's head. Apparently, Kireek took advantage of the group's distraction, and attempted to cut Montague clean in half. The attack certainly got the Doctor's attention, though, seeing as the tip of the Soul Eater was touching his nose.

Elenor took this opportunity to attack Kireek while he was down. She aimed her Red Scorpio at Kireek's head. Kireek, however, was one step ahead of her, and released his Soul Eater and jumped back just as Elenor fired a shot. Shadow and Montague ducked, but Kireek was already bringing down his Soul Eater.

_It can't end here..._ Shadow thought.

The blade was about two inches away from Shadow's neck when it met with another scythe. Silva had used his Soul Banish to block the hit. Silva pushed up, giving Shadow and Montague the room to jump back.

Meanwhile, Sue had attacked Elenor. At close range, Elenor's gun was all but useless. She had to rely on her trap-setting abilities to win her the fight. She set a damage trap, hoping Sue would charge straight for her, but as she was about to, Kireek had signaled a warning.

"Sue, stop! The girl has laid a trap directly in front of you."

Sue grinned. "Got it, thanks." She unleashed a lightning bolt from her hand, and hit Elenor with it, stunning her. Seizing an opportunity, she charged in, ready to use her claw to stab her in the chest.

"Elenor!!!" Montague fired a blast from his Bringer's Rifle, and completely destroyed Sue's claw. Sue jumped back, and shot a blast of fire at Montague. Montague dodged it, barely, and shot another bullet at Sue. Sue dodged, and took out a bigger, badder Nei's Claw. She swung at Montague, but he dodged backwards, but Montague dodged. However, Sue saw it coming, and unleashed a blast of Zonde at Montague, stunning him. She prepared her final strike, holding her Nei's Claw in perfect position to cut Montague's head off.

"Heh...First I'll kill you, then your little robot friend." As she was about to make her move, she felt a sharp pain in her arm. Her right arm had been completely cut off by Shadow's Battle Verge. She screamed in pain.

"You tried to kill my friend...Now, I'll kill you!" Shadow charged with blinding speed at her, thrusting his Battle Verge forward in an attempt to cut her head off. She jumped back, but before her feet could even touch the ground, they were cut off by Shadow's Battle Verge. She went crashing to the ground, covered in her blood and screaming in pain. She attempted to use Zonde to keep Shadow from killing her, but before she could unleash it, Shadow had stepped on her arm.

"Time to die!" Shadow raised his Battle Verge.

"Please..." Sue knew she was going to die, and pleaded one last time for mercy. "Spare me...Please, let me-" Before she could finish, her head was cut clean off. 

Meanwhile, Kireek clearly had an edge over Silva. "Little brother...I'll kill you for betraying us..."

"You don't understand!" Silva shouted in anger. "I never _wanted_ to be evil! I never wanted to be a crook! But I couldn't...leave you. You were everything to me, brother. I looked up to you. I desired your skills. But now, I make my own decisions! I follow my own path!" He pushed his Soul Banish forward, causing Kireek to put even more of his strength into his blade in order to keep his brother from gaining the edge.

"How does it feel, brother..." He pushed even harder on his blade. Kireek was now struggling to even keep his form, much less beat his brother. He was groaning in pain, and Silva knew it was time to finish this. He put all his might into his blade, and sent Kireek crashing to the ground. Before he could get up, Silva slashed Kireek in the chest. The wound was too deep to injure him. Silva, trembling, fell to his knees. He had just killed his own brother. Looking at his blade, he groaned in agony.

Shadow looked down in shock. He had no idea he was that utterly cruel. The sensation to kill had completely overwhelmed him during the fight. He couldn't control himself.

He walked up to Silva, who was looking down. "Silva...Are you OK?"

Silva waited for a while before giving his reply. "Shadow, just...leave me alone. Tend to those two."

Shadow groaned in worry. "Are you sure?"

Silva looked at him sharply and said, "Please, Shadow! Just leave me alone!"

Shadow jumped back in shock. He looked behind Silva, over at Kireek. As soon as his eyes met Kireek's, the sharp pain in his head resurfaced, only this time, it was much worse. It was so bad, he had to close his eyes to prevent them from coming out of their sockets.

An image was created in Shadow's mind. It showed a horribly disfigured monster near Jay. Jay had been calling out to the monster. "Please...You don't have to do this!"

The monster growled, and struck Jay, crushing his Yamato blades and sending him flying backwards. 

Then, Shadow opened his eyes in shock.

Montague and Elenor were standing near Shadow. "Well, let's get going. No need to waste anymore time here." the Doctor said.

Silva stood up, and looked at the three. He had a look of fierce determination in his eyes. "Let's go, guys." The four continued on their way towards the headquarters of Black Paper. 

-------------

Chapter 10

The four had been walking for hours. It had seemed that Montague's initial perception of its location was wrong, and Silva had no idea what was going on. Silva knew the location; it was right here. He knew they couldn't have moved it, so it had to be-

"Hmm..." Shadow was walking forward while he talked. "I wonder if-" Shadow had been interrupted because he walked straight into...something. Although there was nothing there, Shadow knew he walked into something. Montague noticed, and was walking over to Shadow when he too walked into an invisible wall.

"!!!" Silva noticed the problem. "It's his base...It's got a cloaking device!"

"Of course, it's so simple..." Shadow looked around, and eventually saw a small generator hidden in some bushes. He used his Battle Verge to destroy it, causing the cloaking device on the base to fail.

The base was enormous. It stood roughly thirty stories tall, and it was black in color, an obvious attribute.

"All right, let's go, everyone!" Shadow ran up to the entrance of the base.

"Hold on, you guys...The Principal instructed me to report to him when we located the base." Montague took out his communications device and mailed the Principal, then he caught up with Shadow and the others. 

Meanwhile, inside of the base...

"Ungh!" Jay had awoken inside the prison cell of Black Paper's base. "Ed, Ed, are you OK?" He motioned to Ed, but noticed his hands were chained and he was hanging by them from the wall behind him. He noticed Ed was chained in the same fashion.

Ed's eyes blinked green, then turned red; a signal that he had awoken. "Wh-what? Where...am I?"

"Remember? We got knocked out by Black Paper's goons. I just hope Shadow managed to escape. And when I get my hands on that Silva..."

A deep, loud voice interrupted the two. "Hey, you two, keep it down!" A tall FOnewm entered the room and grinned at them. While he walked, his Chameleon Scythe was scraping against the prison bars, causing a horrendous screech.

"Who are you?" Jay demanded. 

"Me? My name's not important. Let's just say me and your friend go way back, kid..." The FOnewm chuckled.

"Huh? You know Shadow?"

"I certainly do, kid. Taught him everything he knows."

"What?! You're his _teacher_?" 

"Heh heh, yep."

---------

Chapter 11

As Shadow and the gang reached the main hall of the base, they were greeted by Black Paper.

"So, fools, ready to die?" He chuckled and walked off.

"Feh, coward. Why don't you come out and fight us yourself?" Shadow said eagerly. 

"Uheheheheh...You'd like that, wouldn't you, Force? But, no...I'll have one of my minions kill you." he said from the speakers that surrounded the room.

As he said that, an invisible door opened, and a simple Rag Rappy emerged from the door. 

Shadow laughed. Sliva looked at the Rag Rappy with a look of utter confusion on his face. Montague and Elenor remained silent. 

"HAHAHAHAHA! A Rappy? Oh, that's...that's rich! You expect that thing to-" Shadow was interrupted by the Rappy, who, while Shadow was talking, charged at him with blinding speed, stabbing his sharpened beak into Shadow's right arm, causing him to fall to the ground in pain.

"Aargh! Damn, that thing's a lot stronger than we expected. Good thing I'm left-handed..." Shadow took out his Glide Divine and used Resta to heal his wounds, as well as the wounds of the rest of the group.

The Rappy, however, was now turning around to begin another charge. This time, though, a red aura surrounded it.

"Hmm..." Montague was thinking of what the red aura meant.

"No problem," Shadow said, "I'll just hit it with Gifoie!" Shadow prepared a blast of fire as the Rappy charged. The fire came in contact with it, but it remained unharmed, and this time, wasn't playing around; it stabbed Shadow right in the leg, a few feet from his intestinal area. Shadow again fell to the ground in pain. 

"Shadow!" everyone else said.

"Arrgh," Silva growled, "I'm not gonna let this thing kill my friend!" He took out his Soul Banish, and fired a blast of Megid from it. The Rappy's red aura changed to purple just before the Megid hit, and passed right through it.

"What?!" Montague said in shock. "But...That's impossible!"

The Rappy decided to change targets, and this time, went for Montague. Elenor had already determined its speed and fired a round from her Red Scorpio that would hit the Rappy. Again, the Rappy's aura changed, this time, it became black, and the round went right through it. The Rappy continued its charge and got Montague in the ear (He tilted his head to the side to avoid being killed), which knocked off his hat.

In pain, the doctor said, "Argh...whatever we throw at it, this thing changes its aura to match our attacks!"

Elenor thought of something while being hit by the Rappy. "What if we attack it together?"

Silva took out his Soul Banish, Elenor loaded her Red Scorpio, and Montague prepared a frosty blast of Gibarta. As the three attacks met the Rappy, it changed its aura yet again, this time to a rainbow color, and blocked every attack. Then, the Rappy's eyes glowed, and shot a blast of Rafoie at the center of where the group was standing, causing them all to go flying and crash to the ground.

"DAMN IT!" Shadow said in pain. "This thing is invincible!"

Shadow was thinking of what to do when he remembered.

_Shadow..._ The voice of his old teacher rang in his head. _Take this._ He held out a weapon, and gave it to Shadow. _Consider it...a graduation present. I want you to use this whenever you're in too deep, OK? This thing has been known to save my life many times._

"Urrgh...Can't hurt..." He whipped out the weapon his master had given him, a Chameleon Scythe. He used it to block the Rappy's charge, and sent it flying backwards from the impact. "Wow, this thing actually DOES work!" He charged at the Rappy, who had just fallen to the ground. Even with its rainbow aura, he managed to kill it with his scythe.

"Heh, thanks, master." He put away his scythe.

Meanwhile, over at the prison cell... 

Shadow's teacher's comms device beeped. "It seems you were right, Assailant: That Rappy fell to your pupil's Chameleon Scythe. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Of course, boss. I trained him, I can kill him just as easy." 

"Why, you little-" Jay was struggling to free himself from the chains, so he could kill Assailant.

"Heh, don't worry, boss. The prisoners are locked up tight, and Shadow and his friends don't stand a chance. Just one question, boss..." 

"And what's that?"

"Can I...kill the prisoners?"

Jay and Ed gulped in fear.

"Heh, do with them what you will...They are of no use to me anymore...Black Paper out."

Assailant laughed, and opened the cell door. 

"Ready to die, scum?"

-------

Chapter 12

Assailant brandished his Chameleon Scythe. Unlike his pupil's, Assailant's scythe was much larger, and its tongue-like blade was much longer and sharper.

"Well, now to decide which of you to kill first." He pointed the blade at Jay's neck. "How about you?"

"You won't get away with this..." Jay said.

Meanwhile...

"Guys, this way!" Shadow noticed a small hidden hallway. If anything, he knew that hidden hallways almost always lead to the main room. He took off in that direction, and the others followed.

"Assailant!" Assailant's radio blared the voice of Black Paper. "What is it, master?"

"It's those brats, they've figured out your location and are headed your way!"

"Arrgh..." Assailant looked down the hall. He could hear many footsteps coming. "I guess I get to kill you on the battlefield, then. Ciao." He ran further down the hall.

"Oh, no! Jay! Ed!" Shadow used a tiny blast of Rafoie to blow open the door, and Silva's Soul Banish took care of the chains that bound Ed and Jay.

"Shadow, thank God, you just made it. Look, that old teacher of yours-" Jay began.

"What? Master Assailant? What about him?" Shadow replied.

"He's a member of Black Paper! The whole reason he trained you in the first place was to become an elite assassin for Black Paper!"

"W-What? No...No, th-that can't be true...You've got to be lying..." Shadow said in disbelief.

"He's not lying, Shadow." Ed said. "Your teacher is Black Paper's right-hand man.

"No...He was my father...he'd...he'd never do that to me..."

"He's lied to you all this time, Shadow. Black Paper wanted you to be some freak killing machine, and heir to the organization of Black Paper! When you learned about that, Black Paper wiped your memory and has been trying to kill you since!"

"That explains why I have such a foggy memory...it's all starting to come back now..." 

Meanwhile...

"Are you sure about this, Natasha? I mean, Dr. Monatgue and Shadow are down there, what if-"

"We have to. We haven't gotten contact from them in four hours. We're assuming they were KIA." Natasha looked at the surveillance satellite of Black Paper's base, which is surrounded by a large number of soldiers. She adjusted her headgear and spoke into her microphone. "Move! Kill any Black Paper member you find!" 

The soldiers that surrounded the base began to move in. 

Back at the base...

"Assailant!" 

Assailant picked up his radio and said, "What is it, boss?"

"We have more unidentified intruders. Seems the government's finally growing some balls. Take care of them." 

"Sure thing, boss, right on-" Before Assailant could finish, his radio was blown to pieces by a blast of Shadow's Rafoie.

"Hello, _master_."

-----

Chapter 13

"Aargh..." Assailant growled. Then, he began to laugh while putting his hands together.

Shadow growled and charged at Assailant, but as he did, electrically charged metal bars rose from the ground and surrounded the two.

"Wh-What?" Shadow looked around and realized that the two were caged. This was Assailant's plan along-killing Shadow.

"You don't get it, do you, Shadow? When we told you of your fate, you rebelled and attempted to kill our leader!"

"Shut up! I'd never follow someone who used me for evil purposes! I was a puppet to you...and to think I called you my father..." Shadow took out his Holy Ray and attempted to blow Assailant's head clean off with a spear. However, by the time he fired a shot, Assailant was already behind him.

"Too slow..." He slashed Shadow in the back with his Chameleon Scythe.

"SHADOW!!!" yelled everyone else.

"Ungh...You...bastard..." Shadow slowly got up and aimed his Holy Ray at Assailant's head. 

"Heh...Shadow, do you remember why you're here?" 

"What?! Of course I do, we're freeing Jay and Ed from your control, and killing your leader, as well as anyone loyal to him!"

"Think further back, Shadow..."

Silva gasped in realization.

"At least the traitor got it." Assailant chuckled. "Remember how you met Silva?"

Shadow thought back to when he met Silva. The reason Silva was there was because of the fact that he was looking for 'strong hunters'. Then it hit him...

"You were never after strong hunters in particular..."

"...we were after you."

This realization caused Shadow to explode in anger. He took out his Chameleon Scythe and charged at his former master. Assailant raised his own Scythe to block, and it quickly became a battle of endurance. A battle Shadow knew he'd lose, so he broke his attack and jumped back to prevent himself from having his head cut off.

"You can't win, Shadow...I trained you and taught you everything I know. Everything, except one forbidden technique..." Assailant raised his hand. A ball of red energy formed around his palm, which he fused with his Chameleon Scythe. "Now, Shadow...I will show you what true power is!" He swiped his Scythe in Shadow's direction. A wave of energy emitted from the scythe that made a straight line for Shadow.

"!!!" Shadow ducked and the wave hit the metal bars. However, instead of exploding, the wave of energy began to turn, and made a complete turn and continued chasing Shadow. Completely taken off-guard, Shadow was struck by the wave, which exploded on impact.

"NO! SHADOW!" Jay said. 

"Weakling..." Assailant laughed.

As soon as the smoke from the explosion dissipated, it showed that Shadows was on the ground, bleeding.

"So...You managed to survive, barely. I'll make quick change of that!" Assailant walked up to Shadow and rose his Chameleon Scythe.

"Goodbye, Shadow, my greatest student. You may have been my most talented pupil, but your stubborn dislike of authority ultimately brought your downfall. Now, DIE!" Assailant gripped his Chameleon Scythe, and began to bring it down.

-----

Chapter 14

As Assailant brought down his scythe, a large light blinded him. Apparently, Shadow was waiting for him to attack him, in order to catch him off-guard. He unleashed a blast of Grants that severely injured Assailant, causing him to not only stop his attack, but fall to the ground in pain.

"Well, 'master', how does it feel to be the one helpless on the ground? It must feel humiliating..." Shadow said.

"Grr...Damn you..." Assailant fired a blast of Gibarta at Shadow, which he easily dodged.

"It's over, Assailant. Give up, you can't win." Shadow told him. It was true; the Grants strike crippled Assailant's legs to the point where he couldn't use them anymore.

"Never! RAAAAAH!!!" He unleashed a blast of Foie at Shadow. Shadow dodged the attack again.

"Look, Assailant..." Shadow began before being pelted by a blast of magic which he easily dodged. "You can give up..."

"NEVER!" He threw a blast of Megid, which Shadow dodged.

"...or you can die." This caused Assailant to stop. "Look, it's up to you. Admit defeat, go to prison and be paralyzed for life, or die here and burn in hell. It's your choice."

"Grrrrrrrrr..." Assailant knew it was over, but he had to win. At all costs, no matter what it took, he had to win. So, he tried his forbidden wave technique again. This time, Shadow was prepared for it. He blasted the wave with Rafoie, causing it to fall to pieces.

"With that, 'master', you have sealed your fate." Shadow took his former master's Chameleon Scythe and killed him with it.

The bars that caged Shadow were lowered. "OK, guys, let's finish this. Black Paper, you're going down!"

-----

Chapter 15

Shadow and the gang were about to leave down the hall until they were interrupted by a gang of government soldiers. "Excuse me, Hunters. We'll take it from here. Thank you for your valiant efforts, you may now go speak with Natasha, who will pay you well for your efforts." The soldiers dashed down the hall, while Shadow and the gang waited for them to emerge. Roughly 10 minutes later, the soldiers emerged with a few stretchers with wounded soldiers laying on them, and Black Paper, wounded and in handcuffs.

"It's over, Black Paper. You've lost." Shadow said. Black Paper merely grunted in response.

"Shadow, thank you..." Silva said. "Because of you, I'm free. I have so much to thank you for."

Shadow replied, "My pleasure, Silva. All in a day's work."

EDDIE walked up to Shadow and told him, "Hey, we made a pretty good team!"

Shadow replied, "Yeah, you know, we did." He looked around at Jay, Ed, Silva, Montague, and Elenor.

"Nice to see you again, Shadow. I'll be seeing you around!" Montague and Elenor walked off with the soldiers back to Pioneer 2.

"We did make a good team, guys. In fact, I think we should make a group. A group of elite Hunters dedicated to arresting criminals and maintaining justice!" Shadow said.

"You know, Shadow, that sounds like a good idea!" Ed replied.

"I like the sound of that." Silva said.

"We'll call the organization 'The Black Hand'. We'll work undercover, as a fake criminal organization, but we'll really be arresting criminals." 

"Sounds good to me." Silva said.

Shadow extended his hand. The others did as well. "To the Black Hand." Shadow said.

"TO THE BLACK HAND!" the gang replied, thrusting their hands down.

The four went back to Pioneer 2 and collected their rich reward.

"So, I guess this is where we part ways for a while." Shadow said.

"We should do what we can to gather more members for the group." Jay said.

"Hmm...I'd actually like to go it alone. You three should start recruiting members in whatever fashion you like, but I'm going to wait on Ragol." Shadow said.

"We'll meet again, after recruiting members." Ed said.

Shadow took the teleporter down to the Central Dome. Taking out his comms device, he sent a message to the Hunter's Guild. "I need some help from the Hunters on Ragol. Tell them I'm to test their skills in combat. No killing is allowed, and the reward will be based upon their skills." Shadow sat near the Dome, waiting for any Hunter who might accept his quest.

(I know, I should've had everyone fight Black Paper, and I was originally planning to, however, I decided to make a last-minute change. Besides, Shadow was badly injured, and 5-on-1 seemed a little too easy :\)

-----

Chapter 16

Shadow had been waiting on Ragol for weeks for any Hunters who would take his offer. In the time he had waited, he wondered if his friends had managed to recruit any members. He remembered that when he parted from his friends, he received a weapon from each. Jay had given him a Double Saber, EDDIE gave him a Rainbow Baton, and Silva had given him a Soul Banish. Also, he received a strange package from an unknown sender which contained a Churel MAG and a note. The note read:

"Greetings, Force. I see you're remaining in your search to test the skills of Hunters. I wish to help, and I will help you by taking your challenge, but give me some time. I'm currently taking care of some business right now. Consider this MAG a gift from me to you. I would also appreciate any help in my ordeal as well, but I understand if you're busy in your recruitment. I can handle my problem on my own, but having assistance will make it go by so much faster.

Sincerely,  
Flathead 

P.S. 'Flathead' was a name my childhood nickname my friends gave to me."

The note was written in neat lettering, so Shadow had assumed the note came from a cast. The note kept Shadow's inspiration alive, and the MAG was a reminder of the attention his request was getting.

While Shadow pondered these thoughts, though, he failed to notice that someone took his challenge. "Shadow?" the figure yelled out. Shadow, who was lost in his own thoughts, was startled by the hunter, and he jumped back, whipping out his Rainbow Baton and pointing it at the Hunter. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The figure emerged from the shadows. He stood six feet tall, and had dirty blonde hair and beige-colored armor to match his hair. His eyes were small and grey. Behind him floated a golden Sato MAG. "My name is Drake. I'm here to accept your challenge." Whipping out a Yamigarasu, he charged at Shadow, who blocked with his Baton, putting them in a deadlock. Shadow knew his strength paled in comparison to Drake's, so he broke the deadlock and jumped back, firing a blast of Foie at Drake.

"So, Shadow, by looking at you, I can tell you're searching for something. What is it?" Drake said, dodging Shadow's Foie shot.

"I'm actually recruiting members for a new organization. We're planning to stop crime in Pioneer 2." Shadow responded, pulling out a Bringer's Rifle and shooting at Drake, who dodged.

"Hmm...Well, then, why do you want to test my strength?" Drake said, lowering his Yamigarasu.

"I'm only recruiting the best. So far, Drake, you've proven yourself to be quite the capable Hunter. There's one last test I must administer to you, Drake. If you pass it, you will truly prove yourself to be a suitable member of the Black Hand. However, if you are to fail..." 

"Hmm?"

"...you will die."

Drake kept his stance, looking at Shadow with a look of determination in his eyes. "Fine, I will take this test."

"As you wish." Shadow swapped weapons, putting away his Bringer's Rifle and pulling out a Soul Banish. "I will ask you again, Drake...Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely, Shadow. I want to prove myself to you."

"Well, then, welcome to the team, Drake." Shadow laughed as he put away his Soul Banish.

"Heh, I knew you wouldn't. The bulletin said there was no killing allowed."

"Wonderful, Drake. See? Yours are the kind of smarts I need on this team. As of now, Drake, consider yourself an honorary member of the Black Hand!" Shadow extended his hand, and Drake greeted it with a firm handshake. Shadow then marked Drake's armor with the Black Hand's symbol.

"So, Shadow, or should I say leader, what is your first order for me?" 

"Hmm...I have an idea." Shadow took out Flathead's note and handed it to Drake. "Find out who wrote this note. He's in trouble and he obviously wants help from us."

"Yes, sir!" Drake said, setting a Telepipe and heading out back to the lobbies of the ships to find the identity of Flathead.

"Hmmm..." Shadow opened his BEE and looked at the clan registry. He registered the Black Hand as an official Hunter Clan, and registered the symbol. "Perhaps this will entice more Hunters to take the challenge." Shadow said, turning off his BEE and waiting for any other Hunters to take his challenge.

------

Chapter 17

"Hmm..." Shadow said, looking out for challengers. "I wonder how Drake's doing. I sure hope he's-" Shadow was interrupted by a barrage of bullets coming his way. He took out his Soul Banish to block them, and looked towards the origin of the bullets.

"Hmm...a challenger? State your name." Shadow said.

"My name is JOE." said the RAmarl.

"Well, JOE, there's no need for all of that." Shadow said, looking at his Soul Banish. "I merely require you to take a small test, JOE. Normally, the skill test requires no killing allowed. However, you see, because I'm a Force, if you die I can merely use Reverser on you. So, are you ready?"

"Seems like a win-win situation. Fine, I accept your challenge." JOE responded.

"Very well. All I require for you to do is survive the blast of Megid I am about to throw at you. If you survive it, you'll be an honorary member of the Black Hand."

"Sure, sounds easy enough." JOE said, with a slight look of fear in her eyes.

"Very well, then, prepare yourself." Shadow said, raising his Soul Banish. He brought it down, sending a wave of Megid at JOE. JOE merely stood where she was, waiting for the Megid blast to connect with her. As it did, the waves of darkness dissipated and JOE stood there, perfectly unharmed.

Shadow lowered his Soul Banish. "Well, then, you've passed. Welcome to the team, JOE." Shadow extended his hand.

"Thanks," JOE said as she clasped her own hand with Shadows and shook it ," And these are for you." She extended her other hand with a pair of Angry Fists she had taken out of her null-storage.

"Thank you," Shadow said as he accepted the Angry Fists.

"Consider them as a gift for our newly found friendship in the Black Hand," JOE said with a cheery voice as her tail was swishing from side to side that could be described something as a vigorous wag of the tail and was starting to curl around her hips more and more with each horizontal motion.

"Oh, and one more thing," Shadow asked JOE with an inquiring voice as she was putting away her vulcans.

"Yes," JOE answered in a curious voice as she turned to face Shadow.

"Where did you get those special "features" of yours?," Shadow asked in a kind tone to not offend JOE's feminine side despite her rugged appearance. 

JOE some how knew that kind of question was coming and was always prepared to answer it no matter how it was phrased for any one who hadn't seen someone of her 'kind'. Her tail slowed to a slow motion of a pendulum as she conjured up the memory of her 'incident' and started to speak with a solemn tone," I received my Fox like appearance while I served with the Ranger Spec Ops of the Pioneer 2 military almost 3 years before Pioneer 2 arrived at Ragol, I had volunteered for a solo mission presented to my team. The mission was to retrieve some valuable intel on a group or man by the name of Black Paper so the government could nail his sick and twisted ass and arrest him or them, but while I was retrieving the intel I had learned Black Paper was the name of a Human individual who was the head of the organization. Only to have the mission to end up as a trap, it was like they knew exactly when and where I was going to be, I was knocked out by a cast I later new to be named Kireek who had been working for Black Paper at the time and gained a rep. known as The Black Hound, and he has left me with a phrase that still haunts me to this day, it goes-"I have plans for you my little... Foxy," and "My master Black Paper also has other plans for you,... Foxy"," JOE had sat down in a Indian style position with her hands placed in the middle of her crossed legs and continued to speed with the somber tone, "By the time I had woken up it was days later and was assumed KIA and I was lying in a hospital bed. Only to find out that Black Paper had spliced my genes with a animal called a Red Fox, but my hair was naturally a red/orange before the incident, was half obedient animal and would obey commands like a common house hold dog if I was called by my 'pet' name, and may I ask you not to call me by that name out of sheer dignity, an unremovable animal shock collar was strapped around my neck and could be activated by any animal shocker if tuned to the right frequency, and to ask you not to do that cause you have no idea how much it hurts to be shocked by this thing," as JOE pointed out the shock collar to Shadow that was strapped around her neck, and had purposely covered the tags which hug from the collar with her hand and continued with her story.

"My incident had also left me with some bonuses. which were that my tech abilities were still the same, I was 1.5 times stranger than before the incident, could shoot more accurately than before(by a lot), I could see in the dark as if it were almost daylight 'my eyes glow slightly in the dark at night and it's a pretty cool sight if you ask me', I could identify people by there scents, hear 1.5 times better than a newman, had a reaction time of less than 3/4 of a second, a sense of situational awareness almost second to none, and still look pretty darn cute and sexy all at the same time thank you. Yet there were some drawbacks to what I gained from that which were instead of human ears I had grown a pair of 5 inch long "fox" ears, a 3 1/2 foot "fox" tail, my hazel eyes were replaced with a pair of neon orange eyes that had no pupil, lengthened canines much like a dogs, the edges of my mouth were curved up similar to a cat's, and freckles on my nose and cheek bones with a unremovable shock collar around my neck complete with a unremovable name tag with a name rather left undisclosed and a **removable** 10 foot long leash which I keep hidden away in my apartment to this day. Well soon after my incident I reported back to my squad after about 2-3 weeks of being listed as KIA, then resigned from the military and I have been with the Hunters ever sense, but all that doesn't make up for the 2 years of ridicule and disgusting remarks that I received after my incident with that freakin' a-hole Black Paper, and **that** is how I received my special features, but if you want a shorter explanation it would be 'Black Paper spliced my genes with a Fox and now I'm a race all of my own which I like to call beasts'. Also just between you and me my "pet name" is……Foxy, and I beg and warn you please only use that name if the situation is dire and is in need of it cause if you tell any one or use it to make fun of me, just to warn you the last person who did that ended up in an intensive care unit for at least 3 days, and lastly if I'm having my period by which you would be able to tell cause I'll be acting very slutty and seductive. Lock me in a room for the next 24 hours, don't open the door for any reason no matter what I say or do, and don't let any one in, because I have done some things in the past that I'm not to proud of and don't want to talk about them…so will you be able to do that for me," JOE finally ended her story with a deep breath and some how ended up sitting in front of a ledge over looking a part of the forest with the end of her and was toying her MAG Diwari with a Star Atomizer with her back some what to Shadow whom had a some what of a surprised look on his face not expecting such a lengthy explanation from the RAmarl he just recruited and could only respond with.

"That one heck of a life story you just gave me there," as Shadow took a deep breath to absorb every thing JOE said and continued," What I can do for you requests is that your "pet name" that Black Paper gave you is safe with me and will only use it if it is needed in the situation , but as for the other request I believe you will be on your own for that one." Shadow finished as he was rubbing his temples still absorbing the information given to him by JOE.

"Thanks, and Shadow if you need me I'll be sitting right over here until you do," JOE said with a rather relieved voice with her tail swishing back and forth a little more happily than before she started her story knowingly that she now had a good comrade to help her watch her back.

-----

Chapter 18

"Ah, the next challenger. What is your name?"

Of course, Grey wouldn't answer such a question. He wasn't here to make friends. "...I do not fight for an audience. I ask whichever one of the two of you...is a spectator, to kindly leave before...we begin."

"I would be the Spectator," JOE said. As JOE stood up and equipped her trusty Silenced Pistol in one hand and a Varista in the other, suddenly she caught the scent of a fluid that had the ever so sliest smell of a paralyzing substance masked within it. She turned her back completely to the new challenger facing Shadow and gave him a very strong wink trying to tell him that she did not like the scent of this new challenger and would actually be within her sight and hearing range (which was much further than of any normal human being), and would be ready to pounce at a moments notice. Shadow nodded in response.

With her back still turned to the new hunter she said," You better not be trying to cheat or you ass is grass, cause I will know if you cheat." With that said she had a gut felling that she might have blown her cover and bounded off the shallow ledge and started to look for a observant position that she could react quickly from 'and besides I want to see what challenge Shadow has in store for this new comer' she said to herself in her mind.

"Hmm, before we begin, silent one, I must ask you, do you truly want me to test your skills, or would you like to skip the formalities and skip straight to the main test?" Shadow's BEE beeped, signaling that he received mail.

"I'll leave you to answer. Until then, excuse me. I have some business I need to take care of."

He took out his BEE system. It being more advanced than most Hunters', it allowed for visual chat capabilities. He opened it, and a computerized version of Drake's face appeared. 

"Shadow, I have news on our client. Apparently, his name is Hagane."

"Wonderful."

"There's more. Apparently, he has a sister. She's a RAcaseal named Ninhongo. She was captured by their creator, a man by the name of Sam Nand." 

"Did you just say Nand?" Shadow asked.

"Yes, sir. Why do you ask?"

"Sam Nand was the rival of a dear friend of mine..." Shadow answered.

Sam Nand was a brilliant scientist whose brilliance was unfortunately branded with both his ambition and his ability to hold a grudge. He was researching the properties of transmetals. Just as he was about to make a startling breakthrough in the world of science, another scientist beat him to it. Jean Carlo Montague had shown the government his idea of the MAG, a device that would hold energy in the cells of the metal, transform it, and use it at the will of man. This startling breakthrough is why Montague is as well-known as he is, and is why Sam Nand holds such a grudge against Montague. The grudge had Nand striving to defeat Montague ever since.

When Montague presented the MAG at the Coral Science Convention of 3087, Nand was crushed. Until Montague's discovery, everyone was positive that Nand's discovery of transmetal casts would win the award for greatest discovery. When Montague defeated him, Nand publicly declared that he would have his revenge. According to what Montague told Shadow, Nand hasn't been seen since...

"Hagane's sister was made out of Nand's sick ambition to use her as a weapon to kill Montague and take his revenge on the scientists of Pioneer 2. When she learned about this, she tried to escape, but she and Hagane was captured by Nand. Hagane intends to free her and they intend to escape together. Apparently he thought we would be a safe have from that madman." Drake said.

"I see. But where did you get this information, Drake?" Shadow asked.

"Apparently, Hagane has been acquiring allies secretly. One of his allies, a HUcast named Carpe Diem, told me everything." Drake said.

"I see. I want you to free Hagane and Ninhongo. However, I do NOT want you to kill Nand. He may be a madman, but we're on a peaceful liberation mission, not a hit-and-run scene, OK? Also, Drake, after the mission, bring Hagane and his alliance here. I wish to have them all become a part of this organization."

"Understood. Drake out." Drake's image disappeared. Shadow's BEE turned off.

Shadow looked at his challenger, asking him "I have two tests I can administer to you. I can test your skills in true combat to see if you are worthy, or I can administer the quick test to you."

After some time, the mysterious challenger said, "The second one."

"Very well." Shadow raised his Soul Banish, using a small portion of his health to fire a blast of Megid at the challenger. Upon getting hit by the blast, the challenger stood there for a while, and eventually fell to the floor.

"Hmm...Unfortunate..." Shadow casted Ryuker, and picked up the body of his challenger, taking him to the hospital wing of Pioneer 2. After getting him set up, he left back to the Central Dome.

Meanwhile...

"So," said a deep, robotic voice, "This is where Nand resides." Carpe Diem had guided Drake to the residence of Sam Nand. Apparently, he had set himself up in a home in No Man's Mines. "First, let me get another ally of Hagane's." Carpe Diem took out his BEE device and dialed a number. The voice of a young man responded, "What is it? I'm very busy right now."

"Never mind that, you idiot." Carpe Diem responded. "Get your brother. We have a mission."

The boy sighed, saying, "Fine, just give us a bit of time to arrive."

"How much time? We can't wait while you and your brother gorge yourselves on chocolate chip cookies, you know."

The boy sarcastically responded, "Sh-shut up!" After that, the boy ended the communication link.

"Who is that?" Drake asked. 

"He's a very young boy, but he's extremely talented. His name's Aanaki, and his brother is named Razaaki."

"Ah, I see..."

The two waited for five minutes until two RAmars joined the two, the brothers Aanaki and Razaaki.

"Yo." Aanaki said.

"'Sup?" Razaaki said.

"Uh...Hi." Drake said.

"Look, Drake, I know they don't look like great fighters, but Hagane only recruits the best." Carpe said, trying to reassure Drake.

"I suppose that's why he hired you." Drake said.

"That's also why he hired your master. He heard that he'd defeated Black Paper, and knew that no ordinary group of Hunters could pull off something like that." 

"Oh...I see..." Drake said. He didn't know that Shadow and his friends defeated Black Paper.

"Yo, you 'bout done? We got shit to do, man!" Razaaki pouted.

"Yeah, man, let's go and kick his ass already!" Aanaki said.

"Fine." Carpe said, opening the door that would lead to the secret route that would allow the four to enter Nand's hideout secretly.

The four didn't realize, however, that there was a hidden camera watching them.

"Heheheh, well, Hagane, it seems your friends have decided to save you and your sister. Well, I suppose I'll have to speed this up a bit, and slow them down all the same." Nand pushed a button on the panel in front of him. A strange machine appeared, a machine which Nand could strangely fit on Nand's hand. The device looked like a strange bracelet that emitted a strange purple aura that took form around Nand's palm.

"This is my latest creation, the Psychosis Palm. With it, I can alter your commands to my will."

"You're sick, 'father'." Hagane said.

"You still call me that? Well, I'm not to be calling you 'son' anytime soon..." Nand looked at Hagane. "Hmm...I think I'll make short work of your friends before I alter your thinking forever." He walked towards the door, but turned right as he reached it. He entered a series of numbers on a number pad, which opened a door. The door contained Nand's weapon of choice, the Frozen Shooter. "I do hope your friends are able to put up a fight..." Nand laughed maniacally as he exited the chamber and made his way towards the 'secret' entrance where Drake and company were.

----------------------

Chapter 19

When Shadow arrived back at the Central Dome, JOE was there.

"Oh! That reminds me, JOE. I have a mission for you. You see, in my spare time, I like to fiddle around with weapon development. It's a long story how I got into it, but I have been into it for a while, and I'd like you to test my first weapon." He took out a smaller-than-average-sized launcher and handed it to JOE.

The launcher looked like an extremely sleek and easily useable weapon. The weapon's handle and accessories were pink in color, its targeting grid and the two lines of metal that bordered the sides of the weapon were purple in color, the missiles were blue, and the rest of the weapon were covered in a chrome plating.

"I call this the Aegis Launcher. I'll show you how it works." Shadow set up six targets, readied the weapon, and pulled the trigger. The bazooka's missiles were apparently Photon missiles (which means they regenerate), and they erupted from the top and right sides of the weapon. The two missiles homed in on two of the targets, and, upon coming in contact with the targets, imploded instead of exploded. He then fired two more pairs of missiles at the remaining four targets, destroying them.

"Wow, this looks like a really nice weapon, Shadow. So, what's the mission?" 

"Well, you see...Apparently, they have some kind of royalty thing going on around a surface desert area on Ragol. (Note: This desert is NOT the one in Ep4) However, corruption has run amok. The village has been recently renamed 'The Village Of Deceit'. Traitors to the kingdom are common, and the high guard of the princess fears for her safety. Apparently, the guard fears that the princess will be kidnapped during her ascension to the throne. I want you to take this weapon and guard her from her captors. Bring her here; they won't follow you. Good luck, JOE." He set up a Telepipe for JOE.

-------------

Chapter 20

"Hey, I'm here for the challenge." Shadow turns to Cap and replies. "Ok, but, do you want to challenge me without a weapon?" Looking at his hands, Cap realizes the force is right. He has no weapon. "Um, just a second." Cap rummages through his various pockets and. oddly enough, finds something.

_"No way! I can't believe I still have this thing. . ."_ A pleased look dawns upon Cap's face as he whips out a Bravace. Except the barrel is two feet in length. With a look of slight sympathy, Cap snaps the Bravace in two, splitting it right past the trigger guard.  
The metal barrel is snapped off the other half and is quickly forced into the 'pistol' half. A few loose wires are reconnected, the trigger is pulled, spawning a three foot triangular blade. The blade starts at the pistol side of the Bravace and narrows into a fine point at the end while the 'barrel' remains in yellow blades center. Oddly enough, this process happens within seconds. 

Looking back up to his client, Cap speaks again. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Shadow looked at Cap curiously, noticing his skills with the assembly of weapons.

"Hmm...Well, then, what is your name?" 

"My name is Cap." Cap said.

"Well, then, Cap, nice to meet you. I wish to know which test you are to take. The skill test, or the endurance test."

Cap thought it over for a minute and answered, "I'll take the skills test."

Shadow looked at him cautiously, then took a stance with his Soul Banish. "Very well. Whenever you're ready..."

Cap aimed at Shadow's shoulder and fired a shot from his gun. Shadow spun the Soul Banish to block, then ran towards Cap, keeping his guard up to deflect any bullets that Cap would throw at him. Cap began shooting at Shadow rapidly, but Shadow managed to deflect all the bullets except for the last one, which hit his shoulder. He lost his form but regained it quickly, still managing to deflect the bullets while going closer to Cap.

Cap, being near a wall, didn't have much choice but to sidestep out of the way when Shadow did a vertical swipe at Cap. After the dodge, Cap begun stepping backwards while shooting at Shadow, who continued blocking the bullets.

_Hmm..._Cap thought. Why isn't he using his magic? _He'd have much more of an edge if he healed that wound, and a crippling advantage over me with Shifta, Deband, Jellen, and Zalure..._

Shadow continued his advance on Cap, blocking the bullets while making slashes. One actually managed to connect with Cap, which cut his gun in half.

"Damn..." Cap said. He kicked Shadow in the arm, which disarmed him of his Soul Banish, leaving both unarmed. Shadow, instead of taking out another weapon like Cap anticipated, casted Shifta on himself and taking a stance.

_OK, now I __**know**__ he's not giving his all..._ Cap thought. Shadow did a series of chops and roundhouse kicks. Cap had a hard time holding his ground due to the effect of Shifta. After a while of tiring out, Cap got the courage to tell Shadow "Look, I know you're not taking this seriously. I want you to start fighting seriously, OK?"

Shadow looked at him and said, "As you wish." He begun by casting Deband on himself and Jellen and Zalure on Cap. Taking out his Battle Verge, he sprayed multiple blasts of Foie in Cap's direction. By the time Cap dodged the Foie shots, the tip of the Battle Verge was up to Cap's neck, and Shadow's hand was raised, a yellow aura surrounding it, signaling that Shadow had a blast of Zonde ready for if Cap was able to escape. 

"Daaaamn..." Cap said.

"Don't worry, Cap. I am quite experienced. And besides, I thought you were quite talented-usually, most people don't manage to harm me when I'm on the defensive. That, and people sweat a lot more when they're in the face of death."

"Heh..." Cap wiped the sweat off his forehead. Shadow lowered his Battle Verge.

"Oh, and for the record, you lasted a lot longer than most whom I've sparred with in the past. This proves that you're worthy of joining the Black Hand. Welcome to the team, Cap." Shadow extended his hand and awaited a handshake from Cap.

JOE witnessed the whole test that had taken place and was amazed how much skill Shadow had truly possessed and Cap's appearance had deceived her of what he was capable of, but most of her attention was still focused on the launcher she was holding called the Aegis Launcher and was drooling over it like a girl gone gottie over an expensive piece of jewelry. Then soon remembering the mission that Shadow had given her and with the new acceptance of Cap into the Black Hand and idea popped into the head.

"Shadow, requesting permission to have Cap accompany me on my mission to protect and escort the princess, and request for more information on said royalty, Sir," JOE said with a practiced military tone with her feed shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind her still holding the Aegis Launcher in a military fashion, as her tail swished from side to side in clear view of both Shadow and Cap.

"Well, I'm glad to be in." Cap then accepts Shadow's handshake. Looking over to the fox girl, he replies. "Oh sure, mission sounds good. . . But I need some weapons. And what is the mission?" Turning back to Shadow, Cap adds. "Also I do have one thing to ask. The job description said something about an award. What exactly is that said reward?"

Shadow smacked himself on the head. He completely forgot the reward that the test-takers were supposed to take.

"I'm so sorry to the both of you. Hmm...I have an idea. Cap, take this." He handed Cap a pair of strange-looking swords. "These are some prototype weapons I'm also working on. See, here's the thing-they can transform from guns into swords. I'd thought you like them." He then proceeded to take out his wallet. "Here, I'm giving you each your respective weapons, as well as 10,000 meseta." He gave both Cap and JOE 10,000 meseta.

"So, what about the mission?" JOE asked.

"Yes, well...You see, the princess' name is Oujouhime. (NOTE: 'Oujouhime' is Japanese; it can mean 'princess of death' or 'princess of a royal castle'.) Her highest-ranked guard, Neiya (NOTE: No idea what that means, just a random, cool-sounding name I thought off the top of my head ) had noticed that a lot of the kingdom's royalty had been participating in some suspicious activity, and she was afraid that the princess would get kidnapped during her ascension to the throne, which, as described by Neiya, only happened because the previous queen was assassinated."

"Oh, I see..." Cap said.

"Well, I'm going to message Neiya, telling her to set a telepipe." Shadow opened his BEE systems and sent the message. Then, he set a Telepipe of his own for Cap and JOE to follow.

-----

Chapter 21

"Damn it..." Drake said. The four were surrounded by a large number of Gillchichs, who were closing in on the four. Drake was using his Meteor Cudgel, Carpe was using his Demolition Comet, Aanaki was using a Yaksminkov 9000M, and Razaaki was using a NUG-2000 Bazooka. The four were destroying the Gillchichs quite easily, but they kept coming in bigger and bigger waves.

"Ah, screw this!" Razaaki said. He fired a missile from his bazooka, which destroyed most of them. The few that survived the missile were cut down or shot down.

"I see you've managed to destroy my waves of robots." Nand appeared from the far end of the room from which the four entered.

"Nand!" the four said, together. 

"We've got you outnumbered, Nand! Give up!" Drake yelled.

"Heh, give up? I'll show you what happens to those who meddle in the work of the great Sam Nand!" he took out about five strange-looking orbs, and threw them in the air. The orbs turned into copies of Nand.

"Who's outnumbered now?"

---------

Chapter 22

JOE was standing in front of Shadow and Cap with the Aegis Launcher at her side as she absorbed the new info on princess Oujouhime and her situation just to the side of the telepipe that Shadow had just set. 

"Well we're no use to the princess if we just sit here," JOE said as she prepared herself for a public appearance hiding most of her 'Foxy' like features, replaced her Flowen's shield with a Custom Barrier ver.00 and removed a Custom Ray in a holster from her null-storage box and strapped it around her waist with the gun situated horizontally on her back. Then placed the Aegis Launcher in her null-storage so she would not attract any more unneeded attention than what she get on a regular basis. Then stepped into the telepipe and said.

"See you guys on the flip side," and teleported away to the 'The Village Of Deceit' and wanted for Cap and possibly Shadow if he was coming along with them.

"Now this is more like it. . . so much money. And these gunswords aren't half bad either. It would be a shame to disassemble them. . ." Glancing down at his blue pistol grip gunsabers, he powers them on revealing a blue blade. Not being able to resist he pulls the trigger launching a narrow blue photon shot.

"I don't think I need two weapons."

Cap powers off the gunswords and starts to disassemble them rapidly as Shadow watches with a hint of displeasure. After a quick assembly, there remains a handle that resembles an "H" and has one trigger. The weapon is powered back on revealing a single photon blade coming out of each spoke. (For those who can't picture this, think Energy Sword / Claw.) 

Shadow seems unphased and rather calm after seeing his prototype weapons dismantled. "Can you remake those?" Powering off his new Claw/Saber, Cap replies. "I'll be lucky if this thing survives it's first fight."

With that said, Cap steps in the telepipe and is immediately brought next to his 'foxy' partner. "We have a long sounding mission ahead of us." Cap holds out his hand waiting for a handshake and says. "Name's Caption M. Flash, and I never did catch your name."

JOE clasped her hand with Cap's and responded.

"Name's JOE and it is a nickname that was given to me back when I served in the Pioneer Military Rangers, mostly because on every mission when me and my team had a locked door in our way I would usually be the first one to step forward and blow out the lock on the door and kick it in. Sorta like a G.I. Joe approach to a problem, but my team mates just called me JOE for short and it was also my call sign in my team," JOE said to Cap as they finished their handshake. Then soon added," BUT, you must never call me by the name that witch hangs from my neck, because one it brings back bad memories, two it will make me act weird beyond belief, and three it was branded on me by Black Paper when he decided to experiment on me and turn me into this." As she gestured with one hand to her body referring to the abnormal features and extremities that any normal human or Newman would not have, and covered the irremovable name tag that hung from the also irremovable shock collar with the other.

" Well JOE, now that we have been properly introduced to one another. I believe I can see the building that princess Oujouhime resides in," as Cap pointed to a castle looking structure in the near distance residing in what appeared to be the general center of The Village Of Deceit. 

"Well then Cap, shall we proceed?"

"Ladies first"

"Very well," JOE said with a smile and started off at a brisk walk with her MAG Diwari and Cap folioing closely behind proceeding towards their objective.

-------------

Chapter 23

"..." 

Oujouhime was waiting in her room, brushing her hair in front of her giant mirror. She wasn't the talkative type, as she was traumatized by her parent's death. (She watched them being killed and barely escaped herself)

A soft knock on her door triggered a rather sad reflex-Oujouhime reached for her Flowen's Sword, took a stance, and said, "Enter."

The figure opened the door while Oujouhime tightened her grip on her Flowen's Sword, ready to strike. However, she released a sigh of relief when she saw Neiya, fully clad in her armor. "Your Highness, we must leave. This place is no longer safe."

"..." Oujouhime said nothing, and began gathering her belongings to leave when a HUmar in green armor with short, spiky lime hair crashed through the door, along with two tall, black HUcasts. The HUmar had a golden double-edged saber while the two HUcasts each used Stag Cutleries. 

"Stop! Don't move, and I will let you both live..." the HUmar said.

"Talon, I should have known." Neiya said, pulling out a Handgun:Milla and aiming it at the one named Talon.

"Neiya, Neiya, Neiya..." He looked at the two HUcasts, who were ready to charge; one at the princess, the other at Neiya. "I thought you were smarter than that. If you kill me, you both die."

"..." Oujouhime looked at Neiya, who was waving a Heaven Striker behind her back. That was the signal for her to move in. She used her Flowen's Sword to kill one of the HUcasts in one swipe. While the other HUcast was charging at Neiya, she aimed the Milla at its head and fired a shot, which killed it. She took out a Heaven Striker, ready to shoot Talon with it, but he had already disappeared.

"Damn it..."

"..." 

Meanwhile…

The six Nands began firing low-temperature bullets at the four, who barely managed to dodge. The twin brothers began firing shots from their respective weapons, but only managed to destroy one of the clones, and that was because the NUG-2000 Bazooka's missile completely destroyed it.

"Heheheh...I let you kill one to test your egos!" Nand pushed a button on his wrist, which generated a shield around all the Nands.

"Damn it," Drake said, "you just don't wanna give up, do you?" 

"Don't worry, Drake, it's as simple as destroying his weapons." Carpe Diem rushed in, being careful to avoid the shots, and managed to cut one of the Frozen Shooters in half. However, after he managed to cut it in half, he left himself completely defenseless, and his legs and arms were frozen.

"Heh heh heh...You'll suffer the same fate as Hagane." Nand extended his hand, injecting the aura from the Psychosis Palm into Carpe's head. (NOTE: Aanaki, Razaaki, and Drake are still busy fighting off the Nands, so they can't exactly do anything about it) 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Carpe groaned in pain as he was taken over by Nand.

"Now, you belong to me."

"CARPE! NO!!!"

------

Chapter 24

"Damn, I didn't think they'd find us here." Neiya said, picking up her and the princess' belongings, getting ready to leave.

"..." Oujouhime looked at the rubble that was once her room. Shards of glass, shrapnel, rubble, and bullet holes were all that was left of her once beautiful living quarters.

"Come on, my lady, we have to go! Besides, that Force took our job to help us. He said he was sending help. With that help, we should be able to defeat Talon and the rest of his forces."

"...OK." Oujouhime got up, took her belongings, and parted with Neiya. Eventually, after some careful maneuvers, they reached a secret outpost in the desert, where they were waiting for the Black Hand's assistance.

Meanwhile…

Carpe's loud scream of pain soon simmered into a low growl, signaling that Nand had full control over him. That being the case, Nand recalled his copies, knowing that their purpose had been served.

"Damn you, Nand..." Drake said.

Nand laughed and began to walk away, saying, "Don't worry. Your friend will send you all to your graves. Pity I won't be here to see him kill you myself." Nand laughed, walking towards the same door from which he entered.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Razaaki raised his bazooka, firing a missile that homed in on Nand. However, Nand quickly reacted, freezing the missile with a blast from his Frozen Shooter.

"Grr...RAAH!" Drake charged at Nand, ready to strike him with his Meteor Cudgel. However, Carpe Diem got in the way, blocking the hit from Drake's Cudgel with his Demolition Comet.

Carpe spoke up in a monotonous voice, "What is your wish, master?" 

"Hmm...kill them."

"Yes, master..." Carpe pushed Drake back a few feet, and Drake decided to break the deadlock. He attacked again, this time doing a vertical strike. Aanaki and Razaaki were looking at Drake fight, when he looked back at them and said, "What are you doing?! He's getting away; don't just stand there, go after him, you idiots!"

Razaaki aimed his bazooka at Nand, firing a missile. Once again, Nand froze the shot, but this time he wasn't able to block the shots from Aanaki's Yaksminkov 900M. He had to raise his guard to avoid being killed. Some of the bullets came in contact with the Psychosis Palm, damaging it slightly.

At that point, Carpe lost the edge in the deadlock he and Drake were in. Jumping back, Carpe gripped his own head, once again screaming loudly in pain.

Nand continued his escape, running into the room where he held Hagane and Ninhongo captive. "Your friends have forced me to make this quick...and very painful." He lifted his hand, and then quickly injected the aura into Hagane's head. However, instead of taking over Hagane, Hagane and Nand both received a very large shock which made them see a strange image...

---------

A tall, monstrous figure stood inside a large room, high above the ground. Hagane and Shadow both had their weapons drawn, ready to kill this monster. 

The monster's form was disfigured-its right wrist extended into a giant rifle, and the other arm had tentacles instead of a hand.

"GIVE...ME...BLOOD..." the creature bellowed. It then continued to screech in a language that Shadow nor Hagane could understand. As Shadow and Hagane dashed in for the attack, everything went white...

-----

Chapter 25

As the escort team neared princesses Oujouhime's small castle, JOE had put Diwari away to let him rest and was walking through the crowd backwards some how navigating her way with ease and telling Cap about her many adventures as a hunter and an Army Ranger mean while entering some commands in on the data pad that was secured to the null-storage that was strapped on her left arm. As she was doing this her RAmarl outfit changed colors from an urban gray to a desert tans but still retained the same pattern in the camouflage.

"…So I said to my self "Screw this" and blew the lock out with both my of Rayguns and kicked the door in and-,"

"JOE look ou-" 

"-Omuff," JOE just ran into a green clad HUmar with short spiky lime green hair causing them both to trip over each other and land in a heap right next to each other.

"JOE I told you shouldn't walk backwards while you talk," Cap reminded JOE of a statement that he had made earlier.

"CRIST! Watch where you're walking," the green clad HUmar said with a snobby tone and quickly jumped to his feet and stalked off a very quick pace.

"Well soorrry!" JOE responded with the same attitude as Cap helped her to her feet, but she doubted the HUmar heard her.

Both Cap and JOE decided to ignore the incident and rounded the corner to the castle entrance and Cap was the first one to give the boor bell a buzz. Seconds later an old butler answered the door and asked," Are you the help Shadow the FOmar send?"

Cap was the first to speak up," Yes we are,"

"Then please follow me, the princess left a message for you that only a true member of the Black Hand could open." So they entered the castle with the butler leading them to what he said, what used to be the princesses personal quarters and finally when they arrived at there destination of a room that was left in shambles and bullet holes in the walls, he pointed to a message recorder in the middle of the room and said, "There it is, now if you will excuse me I have other things to attend to." Then the butler promptly left the room.

Cap looked at JOE, " Is he gone?" Cap said with the meaning of using JOE's foxy features like her ears to make shore he had actually left and she responded with a nod as she picked up the message recorder and opened it up with the swipe of her index finger across the lock to find the message was entirely of text with directions to a secret dessert outpost where Oujouhime and Neiya were waiting for them. Knowingly thinking that there might be surveillance equipment in use Both JOE and Cap read the message silently and as quickly a possible. It read 

Dear Black Hand members,  
The initial plan of escape is no good because 3 traitors managed to enter the castle and attack princess Oujouhime and me in her personal quarters earlier today. Here are the directions to the new location where we can meet.

"So that explains why I've been smelling a familiar scent in this room," JOE said as Cap stowed it in his null-storage unit.

"Why's that?" Cap asked JOE with an intrigued expression.

"Ya know that HUmar that I accidentally bumped into earlier,"

"Ya and your point is?"  
"Well I managed to get is scent by accident as well and I don't forget a scent once I smell it and he was probably one of the 3 hunters that attacked Oujouhime and Neiya just earlier."

"Well ok, now that we know the partial identity of one of her attackers and a positive identity of the other two," As Cap gestured to a pair of dead HUcasts that JOE hadn't noticed, were lying on either side of the room that were partially covered by drapes that had fallen on them," We should proceed to the beta sight immediately in case some of their buddies decide to show up wondering who is responsible."

On that note both JOE and Cap hurried out of the castle throw a back door according to the directions contained in the message and ended up in a street market. Witch gave both of the hunters an idea to by some clothing to blend with the native people as well at buy a pair of cantinas for there short journey through some dessert. So soon JOE and Cap were wearing some dark tan robes hoping to lose anyone who would try and follow and they each had a cantina full of water and quickly continued their journey to meet up with the princess at her secret bunker out in the dessert. Following Oujouhime's and Neiya's directions and taking some precautions not to attract any attention Cap and JOE soon arrived at the beta location and made their way around the bunker and soon found a door and it was JOE who buzzed the door bell to get the resident's attention on the inside of the building and was rewarded with a small camera with a speaker attached to it appearing out from the top of the door frame.

"Who are you?!' the camera barked at the both of them with authority. 

JOE immediately responded before Cap could with," We are members from the Black Hand sent by Shadow whom originally took your quest from the hunters guild and we are the one's he sent to help you." It was a few seconds before the camera responded.

"You may enter!" the camera finally let JOE and Cap enter the bunker when it disappeared back in to the door frame and the door slid open sideways and they stepped in to a room with a observation window and a scanning pad next to a door to the right of the window. Then a female voice spoke to them over the intercom and said," Place your right index fingers on the scanning pad to the left of the door that is on you right, and then we will see if your really telling the truth."

Cap and JOE did so and after a few seconds of pressing there index fingers on the scanning pad the door magically slid open and they proceeded into the next room where they would hopefully meet princess Oujouhime and her personal guard Neiya after there journey to the bunker.  
-  
Princess Oujouhime and her personal guard Neiya were standing at a computer console just on the other side of the glass when the two supposed members of the Black Hand entered the secret bunker wearing dark tan cloaks that covered their bodies and faces, one looked almost a foot shorter and had a smaller build 'possibly making her female' Neiya thought and 'her' hood perked out slightly possibly making her a Newman compared to her possible HUcast or RAmar partner.

Neiya pressed a button on the console and spoke," Place your right index fingers on the scanning pad to the left of the door that is on you right, and then we will see if your really telling the truth." Surprisingly both of the cloaked figures did as they were told and soon the door to the observation room opened and the shorter member entered first soon followed by the taller one as the two Black Hand members steeped in side with the door quickly closing behind them.  
-   
JOE entered the room first followed closely by Cap only to find the Princess Oujouhime sitting in a chair and Neiya waiting on the other side with the door closing behind Cap.

"Hello I'm glad we are finally able to meet in person, and that test we put you through was to make sure that you were really were who you said you were because I had received your Guild Cards from shadow when he messaged via BEE to us that he was sending some help, and my name is Neiya and to my right sitting in the chair is Princess Oujouhime." 

After that was confirmed Cap and JOE introduced them selves, pulled down their hoods, and pushed back there cloaks to reveal their hunters armor underneath and for JOE to show off her foxy like features. Both Oujouhime and Neiya gasped slightly at the appearance of the two hunters with Cap being a RAmar/HUmar wearing a long, open trench coat, a white under shirt, and dark pants with auburn hair that covered part of his face and he had a robotic right hand. Then JOE the "RAmarl" wearing a none standard dessert camouflage RAmarl outfit including a glowing Skyly ID badge with a small top complete with arm length gloves, and stocking that covered her lower legs, a half skirt resting around her waist, with a red null-storage bracer and a custom barrier ver.00 on her left arm and a holstered custom ray ver.00 holstered on her waist, along with a custom frame ver.00, sporting instead of human ears she had a pair of 5 inch long "fox" ears, a 2 1/2 foot "fox" tail, a pair of neon orange eyes that had no pupil, lengthened canines, the edges of her mouth curved up similar to a cat, and freckles on her nose and cheek bones with a dog collar around her neck complete with a name tag and a pair of Army dog tags hanging a round her neck.  
-   
Neiya was surprised that her initial interpretations about JOE when she first walked in wearing the cloak were completely wrong, and she really was some possible experiment of some insane doctor of pioneer 2, but she was close on her guess for Cap that he was a RAmar but what she got wrong was infarct he was a combo of a RAmar and a HUmar and dress rather lightly armored unlike his shorter beast like friend. Neiya also made a mental note to ask JOE how she got her beast like features and ask very carefully to not insult her feelings and appearance.  
-  
Cap was the first one to speak up, "Well now that the introductions are over shall we get going?" 

"Indeed," JOE said as she released Diwari to let him stretch his wings then steeped into an open space in the observation room and prepared a Ryuker back to the Central Dome in the forest where Shadow said he would meet them when successfully escorted Princess Oujouhime and her body guard Neiya.

"Wait!" Neiya said with a slightly extended arm, "Before we go anywhere we need to deal with the Traitors that have been popping up in the town trying to over throw a Fair and Just Government for their own wants and purposes and find out why? Deal?"

JOE and Cap glanced at each other, nodded, and said simultaneously, "Deal."  
Cap started out with, "So where do we start."  
Neiya started to speak with, "Well…"

--------

Chapter 26

Neiya breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now, here's our plan. The clan of traitors is hiding in a base in the center of town. The base is heavily guarded, so we need you guys to sneak in instead of leading a full frontal assault. After we sneak in, we have to be quick-the leader will be guarded by only his most elite soldiers, so be prepared for a tough fight, OK, guys?"

"...I'm coming with you." Oujouhime said, getting up.

"Princess?" Neiya looked at her. "You can't! If they kill you, then he will ascend to the throne, and all hope of saving this village will be lost!"

"...I'll be fine, don't worry." She drew out her utility belt, which had mates, fluids, and other such items attached to it. She then drew her weapons: A Holy Ray, a Shouren, and a Yasha.

"Very well. Follow me, then..." Neiya guided the four to the center of town, just outside the hiding place of the traitors.

Neiya crouched down, whispering to the others, "All right, guys. There's a secret underground entrance right here..." She lifted a box off of a trap door. Opening it, the four entered, sealing off the door to ensure the traitors would not find it. She then amplified the light of her MAG, her blue Sato. The others did the same, JOE using her Diwari and Oujouhime using her white Sato.

The three continued walking until they reached another door straight above them. "Here it is." Neiya said, "This is the door that will take us to the ventilation system of the base." She opened the door, and the four entered the ventilation system.

After some squirming around undetected, the four reached the room of the leader. However, unbeknownst to them, the leader already knew that they were there, and pushed a button on his throne, which caused the ventilation system in the room to collapse, causing the four to fall to the floor.

"Hahahahaha!" the leader laughed, "did you really think you'd be able to infiltrate this base so easily?"

"Damn you, Malachi..." Neiya pulled out her Handgun:Milla and pointed it at the leader, whose name was apparently Malachi. The two guards beside him shielded Malachi with their Yunchangs, ready to deflect the bullets.

"Talon!" Malachi called out. Talon emerged from the door, with three guards surrounding him, all of them HUcasts. (Seems they have a lot of them here)

"...Talon..." Oujouhime said.

------------------------------

"Brother!" Ninhongo yelled. The force from the shock knocked out Hagane and stunned Nand.

"Nand!" Aanaki and Razaaki emerged from the door, guns pointed at Nand.

"Grr...Damn it!" Nand shot his Frozen Shooter at the ground, creating a wall of ice that separated Nand and Hagane from the others. However, the ice destroyed the shackles that bound Hagane. He got up and charged at Nand. He started by destroying the Psychosis Palm, which freed Carpe Diem from Nand's control.

"Curses!" Nand got up and began to run. He once again created a wall of ice with his Frozen Shooter, separating him from Hagane. He then ran in the opposite direction, eventually fading from sight.

"Damn, he got away!" Razaaki said. "Hey, Hagane, stand back!" He fired a shot from his bazooka, which destroyed the walls of ice. Aanaki then freed Ninhongo. The two androids picked up their weapons, offered their thanks, and were about to chase after Nand when Hagane told them, "Don't bother. By now, he's long gone. Let's just be thankful that we're free."

The four left the room, only to find both Carpe and Drake on the ground. They were both unconscious, but Drake looked worse off, having many open wounds strewn across him.

Aanaki reacted quickly, opening his BEE system. "Shadow, quick, set a Telepipe! We've accomplished the mission, but both Drake and Carpe are unconscious, and Drake looks like he's badly hurt!"

-------------------------- 

Shadow looked at his BEE system, having a new message. He casted Ryuker, and immediately, the six of them all emerged from the telepipe. Shadow immediately healed Drake's wounds with Resta, and then proceeded to heal Carpe Diem. However, Carpe seemed like he wasn't wounded.

"That's strange..." Hagane said, "it must be Nand's psychosis device that's causing this." 

"Speaking of Nand," Shadow said, "where is he?"

"Sorry, Shadow..." Ninhongo said, "Hagane was about to capture him when he slipped right through us. We're sorry."

"That's fine, I'm just glad to see you're all safe. Speaking of which..." he walked up to the four Rangers, and struck a smile. "Nice to meet you all, and welcome to the Black Hand." He put his hand out. It was met with the hands of the four Rangers.

------------------------------------- 

"Wh-where...am I?" Carpe Diem was wandering around the strange world he'd found himself a part of. The world apparently had no solid ground, but Carpe felt like he could walk just fine, under the circumstances.

He looked around him. The world had its similarities to Pioneer 2-the buildings, the makeup of the structures-but there was one problem. Looking around, the ground, the sky, the walls-all of them were a strange rainbow color. Also, there wasn't a person in sight, or so Carpe thought, until he saw a strange child on the other side of the hallway.

"Who are you?" Carpe called out. However, instead of replying, the child flew off. Carpe chased the child, again yelling out, louder this time, "WHO ARE YOU?!!"

-----

Chapter 27

"Is that a PARTISAN!? Oh man, a guard with a partisan, funniest thing I've seen all day. . . but back to business." Caption points his claw/gun/saber at one of the guards and dashes forward. The guard gains footing and awaits Cap's attack. A quick shot is squeezed and narrowly deflected by the guard back at Cap. In return, Cap deflects his _own_ shot into the other guard who falls to the floor, obviously not expecting the sudden deflection.

Seeing his partner slain enrages the first guard and he goes for a downward slice. Cap catches the Yunchang in his metallic hand and thrusts his claw/gun into the guard. Before a smirk can even cross Cap's lips he is tackled by one of the HUcasts and narrowly dodges a punch to his head. The android thrusts it's fist forward but it stops within centimeters of Cap's nose. The head was blown off. Looking to his right, he sees Joe pointing a Custom Ray, smoke still spilling out of the barrel. They give each other a quick nod and look toward the remaining HUcasts and Talon.

Joe pulls out a Blizzard Vulcan in her left hand, still wielding the Custom Ray in her right, and opens fire at the HUcasts which simply absorb the shots. Cap dashes forward again and notices that his weapon is shaking while making a humming sound. "Damn it! Nothing ever _lasts_." A look of strong annoyance lays upon Cap's face as he throws his claw/gun at one of the HUcasts. It lands right in his stomach then promptly explodes leaving nothing but scrap metal. The last HUcast charges Cap in a flurry of punches, kicks, and other hand-to-hand moves while Cap does his best to dodge the blows. "Yo, someone do something!"

"...Talon, why?" Oujouhime said.

"I have my reasons, princess..." Talon said, gripping his weapon, a Lavis Cannon. 

Oujouhime took out her Shouren in response. The two charged at each other, sabers clashing.

"Cap!" Neiya took out her Handgun:Milla and fired at the last HUcast, blowing his head clean off.

"Whew, thanks, Neiya." Cap said. 

"Here, Cap, see what you can do with this!" Neiya tossed a Varista at Cap.

Back at the fight, because of Talon's pure strength, the deadlock seemed to be in his favor, so Oujouhime broke it, dodging backwards. As she did, though, a wave of energy fired from the Lavis Cannon, striking Oujouhime in the chest. 

"Aah!" Oujouhime screamed in pain.

"No, princess!" Neiya fired a shot at Talon, but the deceitful leader of the traitors had apparently jumped out of his throne while nobody noticed. He used his weapon, a Guren, to block it.

However, seeing as the leader was right near him, Talon decided now would be the best time to initiate his plan. He struck the leader in the back, causing him to fall to the ground, bleeding.

"Aah! Talon! What is the meaning of this?!" the leader said.

"I'm doing what's right, and that means you're going down." He went for the finishing strike, but the leader managed to jump back. He charged at Talon, using his Guren to burn Talon on the arm, causing him to drop his weapon.

Defenseless, the leader decided to go in for the kill, however Oujouhime blocked the strike of his Guren with her Shouren. Because of the legend of the unity of these two swords, a bright light flashed, blinding everyone...

When the light receded, the leader was gone, and everyone was safe. 

"Talon..." Oujouhime did something that made Neiya almost cry-she smiled. "...it's good to see you're still with us, brother."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Cap said. "You guys are brother and sister?!"

"That's right, Cap..." Talon replied, "I'd infiltrated their base of operations to find out what it was they were up to. However, without me or his androids, he's nothing. He won't be bothering you.

JOE opened her BEE system. She sent a message to Shadow, saying, "Shadow, mission accomplished. We're going to stay in the village to make sure nobody tries anything funny while Oujouhime ascends to the throne." 

Shadow replied, "Perfect, well done, both of you. I'm coming to you, I want to introduce you to some new members." JOE set a telepipe, and Shadow, Aanaki, and Razaaki emerged.

After the introductions, the eight stayed in the village for a few more days, then finally celebrated the ascension of Oujouhime to the throne of the Village Of Deceit.

After being crowned, Oujouhime said, "Thank you all, but this is not my victory. This ascension would not have happened if not for the brave and powerful members of the Black Hand. Please, as a token of my gratitude, I wish to rename this city "The Village Of The Black Hand"! Shadow and the rest of the Black Hand stood up as everyone clapped and cheered.

"What happened to the resistance?" Shadow asked JOE.

"Sorry, Shadow," JOE replied, "but something happened."

"Hm?"

"When Oujouhime's Shouren met the leader's Guren, a bright light blinded us...in that time, the leader escaped. We couldn't stop him." 

"It's OK, we'll get him next time." Shadow said.

-------

Chapter 28

After celebrating, Oujouhime and Neiya went back with the rest of the Black Hand back to the Central Dome. They met Hagane and Ninhongo there, who were tending to Carpe Diem.

"What's wrong, guys?" Shadow asked.

"Drake is fine, he's just resting, but we're still unsure of what's happening to Carpe..." Hagane said. 

All of a sudden, Shadow's BEE system beeped. "Oh, a mission?" Opening it, the image of a FOmarl appeared. "Force Shadow, we desperately need the help of you and your organization. Our mountain, Mt. Fiji, is under attack."

"Well, how large is the force? We'll send help right away, but we need to know what we're dealing with." Shadow replied.

"The force is quite large, so I request that you send whatever forces you have. Please, I'm begging you, we're in desperate danger...Our forces are small, they only consist of myself and my attendant." 

"We'll send all the hands we have available." Shadow said. He then closed his BEE system and looked at the Black Hand members. "Hmm...Cap, JOE, we will investigate. We'll call Aanaki, Razaaki, Oujouhime, and Neiya once we know exactly what we're dealing with. All right, guys, let's go!" Shadow casted Ryuker, warping back to Pioneer 2 with JOE and Cap. He then took the other telepipe, and found himself at the top of a very beautiful mountain. 

"Shadow? I would have thought your force would have been larger than just you three."

"I just need to see what we're dealing with...I'll call for reinforcements once I can properly judge the enemy's strength. Besides, these are two of my best, and I'm the leader, so I can assure you that I can provide adequate protection to the two of you."

"Wonderful, thank you..." the FOmarl said, politely taking a short bow. "Oh! I'd forgotten to introduce myself." She held out her hand. "I am Otohime. My attendant, who's currently scouting the area for enemy activity, is named Samsara. She'll be returning with a report shortly."

"I see...Cap, JOE, you may relax for now. I wish to have a word with you, Otohime." Shadow said.

"Right, thanks, boss." Cap said. He looked around for a chair. There were no chairs, not even any benches among the fields of flowers and small open buildings on the surface. However, the small temples were beautifully built. Curious of the territory, Cap decided to explore. As for JOE, she found a cherry blossom tree a few feet away and lay down, relaxing.

"Otohime, I need you to tell me everything."

"Yes, of course...Well, you see, Shadow, we're a peaceful tribe of the mountain. However, the two tribes surrounding us are at war. They see this place as a strategic stronghold, and wish to control it. However, the two tribes are not only extremely greedy and vindictive, but they also plan to destroy the wildlife around this beautiful place."

"Oh, my..." Shadow said with a sad look on his face. "I will not let them destroy this place, I promise."

"Thank you very much, Shadow." Otohime said with a smile on her face. She then walked off, leaving Shadow to plan a defense.

---------

Chapter 29

"So, are we ready?" A tall, dark-skinned FOmar dressed in dark blue robes stood on top of a large rock.

"Basilisk, you don't have to worry. They have a small force, we shall wipe them out with ease." A medium-height, dark purple HUcast said.

"Heh, I don't care. I just want whatever items of worth they have." A short, black and grey RAcaseal smirked and looked in the direction of the temples.

"Fine, then...I'll do my part." said a tall, grey and orange HUcast.

"We're the Slithering Shadows, we can't lose." said a tall HUmar with red hair and a black and red suit.

"All right, here's the plan. We're going to surround them." Basilisk pointed to the orange HUcast. "Igneous, you'll lead the small task force. When they think that that is our main force..." He pointed at the dark HUcast. "...Dementia, you'll rush in from the back with the larger force." He looked at the RAcaseal. "Whisper, you'll use your guards and take control of the weapons vault." Finally, he looked at the HUmar. "Janus, you're with me. We'll give their execs a fight to remember!"

Igneous rubbed his chin, then said, "Roger."

Dementia grabbed his Demolition Comet. "Heh...This should be fun..."

Whisper took hold of her Kunai. "I bet they have some nice weapons I can steal!"

Janus unsheathed his Flowen's Sword. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Basilisk got up, picked up his Snake Spire, and said, "All right, troops, move out!" With that, the respective leaders paired off with the troops into groups and moved to their ordered positions.

Meanwhile...

"So, they're after you for your weapons?"

"Yes...We believe the souls of great warriors of our clans were sealed into them at the time of their respective deaths. The Slithering Shadows see those weapons as items of great worth...but it's more complicated than that. See, they want to do more than just steal our weapons. They want to loot homes, rape the women, and burn our temples of worship."

"Hmmm...I see. I'll do what I can to protect them..."

"Thank you, Shadow. However, there is one weapon I ask that you protect above all else, the-" Otohime was (conveniently ) cut off by a siren. "Oh no, they're attacking!"

Shadow opened his BEE system. "JOE, take the back. Cap, guard the weapons vault. I'll protect the temple, and Otohime and Samsara will protect the front. MOVE!" He armed himself with his Soul Banish, and walked just outside the temple, watching the people panicking, running back into their homes, while the guards positioned themselves.

"I'm in position." Cap said.

"As am I." JOE said.

"We're ready." Otohime said. 

"Hah! Fools...I at least give them credit for preparedness." Igneous said, carrying his Zanba.

"Hahahaha!" Dementia said. "ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!" He ran forward, but was stopped by JOE. "What?! Reinforcements?!"

"Surprise!" JOE said.

"What a waste...spending all their time guarding their sides, when I can just slip through their guard!" 

"Oh, really?" Cap said, emerging from the door. 

"Their temple is completely unprotected..." Basilisk said, shooting a blast of Foie at the temple.

An ice blast of Barta met Basilisk's Foie.

"?!"

"Weren't expecting reinforcements, were you, now? Prepare for defeat!" Shadow said, taking a battle stance.

"Oh, but can you defeat two opponents at the same time?" Janus said, emerging from the shadows and taking a battle stance alongside Basilisk. 

"Well, then..." Shadow said as Basilisk smirked. "...I'll just have to make sure you don't interrupt, Hunter!" He used a ring of Gifoie to trap Janus, so that he wouldn't interfere with the fight between Shadow and Basilisk.

"Well, then, Force, show me what little skill you possess." Basilisk said.

-----

On that note, out of her null storage JOE pulled a Double Brand that she stuck in her belt and a holstered rifle that she received when she was serving in the military. It was known as the Revolver Rifle for obvious reasons that it looked like an over sized revolver with a stock and rifle grip. The Revolver Rifle is a 2 ½ foot long, semi-automatic that fires photon rounds that are so high on the scale, normal photon scanners can barely read it. Slung it across her back, climbed a near cherry blossom tree hoped across a couple rooftops and raced toured the back of the town with Diwari zipping along right at her heals. When she reached the back of the town, it mostly consisted of the homes of the town's people and spots of waist high tall grass that was dense enough to hide in. Instead found a decent rooftop to get the jump on anyone who would try to attack from the back, and strained her Fox senses to their fullest to catch any sign of attack before the attacker could ring harm to anyone. With the live message feed still going Cap responded to Shadow's orders that he was in position.

"As am I." JOE said. No sooner when she said that a dark HUcast came charging into view wielding what appeared to be a Demolition Comet with the essence of an enjoyment of the slaughter profusely poring off his humanoid form. With a swish of her black tipped orange Fox tail, judging the HUcast's line of approach, JOE lowered herself form the rooftop position and drew her Double Brand from her belt, because from past knowledge gunning down a charging HUcast is quite difficult because of their android speed, reaction time, and the fact that it is an android. Then hid in some tall grass right in the path he was running and it was not even 60 seconds when JOE heard the android laugh at the top of his lungs.

"Hahahaha!" the HUcast said. "ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!" He ran forward, but was stopped by JOE. "What?! Reinforcements?!"

"Surprise!" JOE said, and Diwari beeped angrily at the dark a TALL HUcast that looked easily 7 feet tall even at the distance of 25 yards, compared to JOE's 5-foot frame. With her Fox ears pointed in an upward position turning from side to side, her tail swishing from side to side with the essence of a hidden inner being full of anger and wrath, but JOE's face displayed an emotion of a battle hardened warrior. Using the moment of time she had JOE cast Shifta and Deband on herself then Jellen and Zalure on the HUcast.

"Well you're a cute one aren't ya, I know some people that would just love to do nasty things to you before they kill you," the tall HUcast paused his advance to bellowed in JOE's direction evidently slightly surprised by her appearance. 'Trying to strike fear in me eh' JOE thought to herself,' but the smell he gives off he probably dose'.

"I will not allow you to bring harm to this village," JOE responded to the HUcast as she ignited her Double Brand.

"That's to bad, guess I'll have to kill you to, you would have made a good pet to," as the HUcast leaped for an overhead strike at the last word. Slowed by Jellen and Zalure JOE easily rolled under the leaping HUcast, then lined up a strike at the HUcast's back which was barely blocked by the slowed android. Soon after the block the Jellen and Zalure techs where shaken off by the tall android, then spun around and struck out horizontally that JOE blocked with her Double Brand thanks to her fox like reflexes and the assistance of the Shifta and Deband techs. Soon both the HUcast and JOE were exchanging between offense and defense. Not long after her engagement with the HUcast the large force that he was leading was engaged in a firefight with the town guard valiantly defending their village.

-------

Chapter 30

JOE had just spun her Double Brand above her head to ward off the HUcast that was just about to go for an overhead strike and leaned into the HUcast for an offensive strike for the legs witch was blocked and spun for the head which was also blocked. The Shifta and Deband techs wore off just as the HUcast stabbed at JOE's mid-section, this time JOE was too slow, she barely dogged it and the Demolition Comet just grazed her side in several spots. JOE winced from the pain as a touch of blood trickled from the wounds. Quickly she spun for the Cast's chest only to receive a kick in the chest, her inner animal scenes saw it coming and moving with the kick she reduced the damage and rolled backwards to regain her feet.

"Ooh that must of heart," the HUcast said, " I haven't had a fight like this in a long time, thusly allow me to introduce my self I am Dementia, and if you surrender now I will grant you a quick death."

"I don't think so Dementia" JOE responded, " and you may know me as Maeaszloli (Ma-e-as-zloli: Fox Light (Navaho code talker for flight))." As she stepped into Dementia and they started to dance around one another with great skill. Both blocking and attacking at the same time, when one is skilled enough with a double saber that person could make it swing so that it looks like an exotic dance. 

JOE could hear the setting off of techs in the direction of the main temple 'Shadow must have engaged another force' she thought, but had to defend the back side of the town and concentrate on her current fight with Dementia the HUcast. He had struck out at JOE's arm and she blocked, but was pushed back by Dementia's strength and the Demolition Comet's half a dozen blades cut deep into JOE's arm, she cried out in pain or was it more of a lion's roar that she screamed. She rolled away from the weapons blades he stuck again, this time the Demolition Comet's blades met the Custom Barrier on JOE's left then launched a Zonde from her injured right. The lighting overloaded Dementia's systems and was stunned for only seconds which was plenty of time for JOE to step back and cast Resta on herself and healed the cuts on her mid-section and slightly heal and stop the bleeding on her right arm, but was still in an amount of pain.

' I have to let It out' JOE thought to herself, she knew she was becoming desperate ' I have to let some of it out' she thought. So she took a deep breath and inhaled, she was in a shaded white room that was about 20ft x 13ft with the beast leashed with a black leash to the opposite wall a single window near the ceiling shined a moonlit light into the room. It had no door; JOE walked over to the beast slowly and could clearly hear a dull purr coming from the beast. This was her inner animal, it looked exactly like her except for some key points, the most visible one was that fur covered it's entire body in the exact color of a fox that would normally be invisible when JOE is in control. Next is that the tail is never still it's always moving like snake on the run, the ears are always moving turning poking up and drooping down listening, the nose always smelling hunting out the next victim, the solid neon iris and no pupil darting form side to side analyzing its surroundings. Lastly the expression the never changing innocent curiosity shining in the eyes with a plastered murderous smile showing the ivory white k-nines. JOE unhooked the leash from the identical collar that she was wearing, the instant she did this the beast jumped her kicking her in the gut knocking the wind from her lungs and throwing her against the wall on the side she came from landing in a heap. Then with one had the beast picked JOE up buy the neck and her ears and tail was slowly Turing from side to side as the beast started to lift her off her feet and choke her. Then with the other hand pulled a white leash from the wall and hooked it to JOE's collar. It was like being injected with a neurotoxin so that you could still see, hear, feel, and barley talk at a whisper, fell to her knees, and could only be helpless as the best wrapped its limbs around hers and start to molest her body.

The beast put its mouth close to JOE's ear and said, "Now Maeaszloli is in control," as Maeaszloli frisked JOE's body in an even more sexual way with JOE's own limbs, and absorbed all of JOE's thoughts, memories, and visions since the last time she had gained control over JOE. The only thing that JOE could bring herself to say was, "no!" in a desperate whisper. All of this had happened in the confides of that small white room in the time it took to inhale and exhale the deep breath that now Maeaszloli had just took.

As Dementia recovered from the Zonde shock he was almost shocked again by the appearance of Maeaszloli with the now fur covered body, the never motionless tail ears and eyes, and the expression she now conveyed and prepared himself

"Now Dementia fights the real Maeaszloli," JOE heard Maeaszloli speak from her own mouth that was now Maeaszloli's 'it never speaks unless it has to' JOE thought as she was falling throw what seemed a endless abyss that she could see what it was doing to her body but couldn't do anything as Maeaszloli frisked JOE body more exotically back in that white room that was JOE's mind.

It launched at Dementia with a furry she could barley match only when she was very angry. Dementia was starting to lose the fight to Maeaszloli as he took more and more damage to his own body as well as his moral, but was getting in a hit here and there making Maeaszloli bleed more and more, little by little. If he was going to die her was going to take her with him.

-----------

"Feh..." Shadow said, brushing his hair. As he did, the fingers he used begun to barely glow, and had Basilisk not seen the glow, the blast of Rafoie that followed would have incinerated him.

"Not bad, Force..." Basilisk said. He raised his hand, shooting a blast of Barta at him. Shadow jumped in the air to dodge, then shot a blast of Gizonde at Basilisk, who barely dodged.

"Heh, a war of techniques, is it? Then this is a war of endurance as well, I see..." Shadow said, spinning a ring of Gifoie.

"I suppose so." Basilisk shot Foie at Shadow, who responded by using Rafoie to absorb it. However, the ring of Gifoie had reached Basilisk, and he was forced to jump. However, he didn't notice that Shadow used the Rafoie blast as an opportunity to jump on top of the temple, and attack Basilisk in the air.

"YOU'RE MINE!" Shadow used a vertical slash with his Soul Banish, but Basilisk responded with a vertical slash from his Snake Spire. The attacks nearly cancelled each other out, due to them connecting simultaneously, but they both received wounds; Shadow to the chest, and Basilisk to the head.

When both warriors landed, they both were dizzy, and had a hard time keeping on two feet. However, Shadow recovered first.

_I've got to end this soon...otherwise he'll kill everyone here..._Shadow thought. "Hey, you, Basilisk...Consider yourself lucky...You're the first to witness my secret technique!" Shadow raised his hands in the air, pointing his Soul Banish in the sky.

The clouds gathered, lightning coming down from them. However, the lightning wasn't what caused Basilisk's minions to run in fear; it was the large meteors that came down from the sky.

The meteors were expertly controlled by Shadow-they only hit the area directly where Shadow and Basilisk were fighting. Their impact caused large blasts of what looked like Rafoie.

After the smoke cleared, Basilisk was leaning on one of the obelisks surrounding the temple.

"I'll give you one last chance, Basilisk...Retreat, and never come back. That, or die. It is your choice."

Basilisk had no choice. He knew if he continued fighting, he'd die for sure. "Urrgh...MEN! Retreat!" Upon hearing this, their force gathered, and headed for their base on the other side of the mountain.

Shadow casted Resta on his wounds, and then checked on his allies. He headed first to where JOE was fighting Dementia.

Upon seeing the beast that took over JOE, Shadow stopped his advance, raising his Soul Banish. He knew that that animal would kill him if he let his guard down.

_So this is what they did to her..._

------

Chapter 31

There was a brief pas between both Maeaszloli and Dementia in their dance of spinning double swords. Dementia had scars all over his armor, had been stabbed straight through in the chest, a now troubling left leg, and a near useless right arm, and had been slashed in several places all over that had damaged important circuitry. Maeaszloli wasn't doing any much better with JOE's body. She had several minor cuts all over, a deeper cut here and there and the cuts on her left arm were bleeding again, mudding her fur, and probably had a broken rib or two. The normally invisible Custom Frame was fizzing between partly visible to somewhat visible, JOE's uniform was halfway near completely torn off and a couple of well-placed cuts would case both her top and pants to fall off. Diwari had also taken a couple of grazes but was doing fine. Then footsteps sounded off coming closer and closer from the direction of the temples, both Maeaszloli and Dementia turned their head in the direction of the footsteps, and soon Shadow appeared from around the corner of a house and quickly readied himself for combat.

Both Maeaszloli and Dementia's blades met and were together soon after shadow appeared as they each tried to gain the upper hand but Dementia's strength prevailed and pushed the beast Maeaszloli back and just when the finishing blow could was about to strike Maeaszloli down for good. There was a bright flash from JOE's hunters gantlet and disappeared for less than a second and with another flash Maeaszloli appeared a good five steps away from Dementia's backside and turned to face her for a brief moment before their blades met again in a fierce battle for dominance.

JOE didn't know weather or not Shadow had readied himself so quickly because him wanting to assist in purging the enemies from the village or at the sight of her being taken over by the beast Maeaszloli. Evidently Maeaszloli didn't care for Shadow at the moment because her thoughts were centered at Dementia and eradicating him like an annoying Rag Rappy.

Then once again they stepped into each other still managing to keep the grace of the dancing Double Swords. The result was quick simple and precise, Dementia was simply to slow on the attack. They each took five steps Dementia struck first, then JOE deflected the blow and with a spin of her Double Brand and a back flip off of Dementia's body landing right in front of the HUcast's body 6 feet away right by the Demolition Comet. When JOE or rather Maeaszloli landed on her feet, she wasn't wearing JOE's combat boots and soon landed with a thud right next to her. Maeaszloli was slowly turning JOE's body more animalistic as the fight went on. Now the cat like curves of the mouth were more exaggerated and the tip of the nose was starting to turn black, the fur covering her body had thickened, the hands were starting to look more like paws, and the legs had the look of the hind legs of a Fox and was standing on her tip toes with a paw like shape with the 4 toes she now had or had always had. Then quickly plunged one end of the Demolition Comet in to Dementia's gut and tossed it to the side nearly hitting Shadow with the Demolition Comet. Then Maeaszloli jumped back and was now 6 feet away from Dementia whom was on his knees staring at Maeaszloli whom was pointing JOE's Custom Ray at Dementia's head with the laser pointer at the HUcast's forehead.

"Go on, finish it," Dementia said staring hard at Maeaszloli. Just as Maeaszloli was about to pull the trigger JOE was starting to regain strength and prevented Maeaszloli from pulling the trigger of the gun.

Back in JOE's mind Maeaszloli was clinging to JOE's back as Maeaszloli quickly over powered JOE's feeble attempt to prevent her from pulling the trigger and clicked it back causing the photon driver to send a photon round into Dementia's forehead just after he had sounded a retreat to the enemies he was leading and was just about to stand up. The cast fell over with a thud and the eyes were a dull red, life no longer flowing through them. Then Maeaszloli whispered into JOE's Fox ear.

"Now that that fool is out of the way, it's time for Shadow to do the same,"

Just as Maeaszloli started to turn JOE's body to face shadow, back in her mind JOE simply said one word.

"no!" 

Suddenly overpowering Maeaszloli's strength she slammed her against the wall that was behind her and throw Maeaszloli to the beast's side of the room that was now turning white from black. Then quickly unhooked the white leash from her own neck she returned the black leash to Maeaszloli collar whom was obviously tired from the fight and she could now feel herself falling to the ground face up. Clouds had gather during the fight and it had now began to lightly drizzle misting everything with life giving water. JOE slowly stepped up to her bare feet that had now returned to normal and the fur that had covered her body was slowly fading back to invisibility.   
JOE was holding her right arm from the pain and the broken ribs and replaced the double brand and the custom ray to their proper places on her belt. Diwari had now reappeared at JOE's side chirping softly.

"Shadow" JOE said facing shadow.

"Yes" Shadow answered.

"Where are the Medic tents?" JOE asked 

"Its towards the center of the village"

"That's where I'll be if you need me" JOE said as he started to limp off in the direction of the Medic tents supported by Diwari with its red lights glowing relatively bright. _I wonder how Cap is doing_ JOE thought to herself as she headed towards the medic tents.

-----

Epilogue

Leader's Journal. Date: November the fifth.

I was a fool to not see this. The crumbling of what was once a great organization.

After Basilisk's defeat, we managed to identify Carpe Diem's little run-in with Nand's Psychosis Palm. The Palm had altered his programming, trapping the Carpe we know inside of an inaccessible file. When we tried to reroute his systems to retrieve his personality, all hell broke loose. He went on a rampage, attacking everything in sight. Nobody was killed, but a few of us were injured slightly, and there were many damaged facilities.

After Carpe's rampage, a rogue, whom the public referred to as "Sandman", begun spreading propaganda about androids and the Black Hand. Soon, a lot of Hunters blacklisted us. (The Hunter's Guild didn't, though) However, what was to come was far worse.

Eventually, Jay used the propaganda to find us. The Black Hand was whole again. Just as we decided to send a force to attack the propaganda, we learned that there was a nationwide riot against androids. Many were killed, and several more were the killers.

And from here, it only gets worse. The riot spawned many more acts of racism against androids. Soon, the whole of Pioneer 2 hated androids, and called these separate riots one incident: The OPPS incident.

At this point, many groups were after us. We defeated whatever came our way, but it was obvious that we were tired of this. At our weakest, Sandman revealed himself. Apparently, Nand was the one who called himself "Sandman". Unfortunately, he had an ally in Basilisk, and another ally in Kireek, who we thought was long gone. Of course, Kireek got right into it with Silva, but something didn't seem right. Although both had grown a large amount, Kireek was clearly the stronger of the two. Suppressed and cornered, we suffered our first loss in Silva. That day was, to the leaders of the Black Hand, the worst.

To top it all off, Nand and Basilisk managed to capture me. At that point, the rest of the Black Hand was forced to scatter and hide.

It was terrible. Nand had a D-Cell experiment, one that had enough power to cripple the Principal Government. I was his first test subject. As the days passed after that, Jay had recruited some more members, and managed to infiltrate the lab. Unfortunately, it was too late. Jay and I managed to escape in the lowest point of the Seabed, a place undetectable by radar. However, at that point, neither of us were safe. The D-cells mutated me, turning me into that same monster I saw in my vision so long ago.

Jay was forced to kill me, but as he struck the finishing blow, the remnants of my sanity gathered inside Jay's consciousness. Being inside Jay wasn't my most...pleasant experience, but I had to do what I could to survive. 

After finding a new place to regroup, we managed to come in contact with Hagane again. He explained that he was hiding in the Hunter's Guild, which had grown so violent that the Principal Government had been overthrown by the Hunters. Now, the law couldn't protect us. Only our wits and wills could do that.

It was chaos. At this point, we had a fraction of our forces, no hope, and no allies. Everyone was against us, and we were running out of places to hide. Fortunately, Hagane knew of a way to transfer my mind into the body of an android. After we tried that, Kireek, Dementia, and Whisper found us, and we were forced to battle them. We were narrowly victorious over them, and my body had suffered severe damage, almost beyond repair.

Just as I was about to make a full recovery, we were attacked by Nand himself, who had a strange new look and power. He managed to destroy my body, forcing me to hide my consciousness inside of Jay once again. We fled.

This time, Hagane could put my consciousness inside of a body of flesh, one that looked almost identical to mine. We tried and succeeded in the process. After some training and regrouping, we managed to find the rest of our members, despite our low numbers.

Confident in our abilities, we launched a counterattack. We managed to succeed in infiltrating Nand's lab once again, but at the core of the lab, with Basilisk was a D-cell-mutated Nand. Basilisk had a difficult time controlling it, so he sealed the lab, escaped, and left us to fight him. Again, we suffered injuries and casualties, but we narrowly emerged victorious, this time finishing Nand for good.

After our victory, we managed to escape the lab, and were fed up with Pioneer 2's chaotic regime. We managed to find in intergalactic spaceship and left for destinations unknown. I'm here on that ship as we speak.

Now, a head count:

Jay: He was the only executive leader who never died. Heh, I suppose he dies hard. 

EDDIE: He and his forces were caught by Kireek and murdered. 

Silva: Shared the same fate as EDDIE.

Aanaki and Razaaki: Tortured to death by Nand. (They were captured alongside me) 

Carpe Diem: Alive, but beyond our help. He's still going on a rampage as we speak, killing everything in sight.

Drake: Drake...we have no idea what happened to him. When we split, he went alone, and we haven't been in contact since. I pray for his safety, as even Ragol has come under tyrannical rule by an Emperor... I just pray that Drake is all right...

Cap: Now one of the executive leaders, he's here with the rest of us, piloting the ship.

JOE: Also one of the executive leaders, she's currently resting in her quarters.

Hagane: Upped to second-in-command of my branch, he's helping Cap pilot the ship.

Ninhongo: One of many murdered by Nand's sick plot at bringing us down. She was murdered right in front of Hagane's eyes...something I imagine is hard for him.

Montague and Elenor: I assume they were killed by Kireek.

Talon, Oujouhime, and Neiya: Captured and killed. 

Otohime and Samsara: Mt. Fiji's village was burned to the ground. Nobody survived.

I believe that is everyone. We also have some of Jay's forces with us: A FOnewearl named Meow, and a RAcaseal named Clenze. That would mean that the only survivors of this horrible incident were:

-Myself  
-Jay  
-Hagane   
-Cap  
-JOE  
-Meow  
-Clenze

I just hope that, wherever we go, we are accepted by whoever we find.

I think that's enough for now. I'm tired, and I need some rest. Until next time.


End file.
